A New Kind Of Game (Revamp)
by JustAnOrdinaryWriter
Summary: After Zyeke, a teenager recently turned young adult, is suddenly taken from his world and thrust into one of his old favorite video game past times, nothing is as he remembers. Instead of survival, he must fight against mobs that have somehow taken human form and established a monarchy over humans, princesses, and a demonic entity long forgotten by time that has re-awakened. Revamp
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Disclaimer. I do not own Minecraft. There, we did it, now let's get on with this!**

Chapter 1

 _Huff…huff…huff..!_

 _Theew…Theew…Twack…Theew…!_

 _Screeeeeeee..!_

If you have read everything up to this point and are wondering just what the hell is going on, then great! We're on the same page. Because right at this particular moment, my mind is running at about a million miles an hour, a speed which, consequently, would be overwhelmingly better than my current frantic sprint. And what am I doing with this impressive influx of mental capacity? Well, here's a preview.

 _ShitshitshitshitshitshitSHIT!_

Now, I do apologize. I don't normally curse this often, even in my own head. However, I think I would be excused if you understood my present situation. Also, please disregard the poor and arbitrary way I'm going to be dumping information on you for the time being. I would normally be more calm, detailed, and proper with my handling of information. But considering the fact that I've been transported into the game of Minecraft, it's night, and there's a bloody _huge_ spider jockey chasing me through a mob infested forest AND is firing arrow after arrow in my general direction…yeah, you'll have to forgive my lack of presentation.

"Status!" I yelled, pushing off my back foot and throwing my body to the right, my left shoulder brushing against the bare bark of one of the hundreds of oak trees littering this blasted forest biome.

Sure enough, responding to my command and lining the bottom rim of my glasses, a small display screen popped up. Disregarding the dark green bar that occupied the center and the full two sets of hearts on the left, my eyes darted over to the hovering pixilated drumsticks. After a brief second, the entire row bounced and vibrated, taking away half of the outermost left one. My face fell as my stomach contracted and left me with a cold, hollow feeling, which would've made me slow down if not for the massive amounts of adrenaline pumping through my veins. It wouldn't be long before that third drumstick vibrated again and left me three hunger bars down. Dang it!

Moving my gaze off the status meter, I focused my attention back on my path to find yet another tree directly in front of me. With a yell, I reflexively threw up my hands as I dug my feet into the firm, unforgiving grass block, sliding and smacking right into the hard wood. Pain flared out from my arms and wrist as the status screen from before popped back into my peripheral. I didn't have time to look though as my momentum bounced me off the front side of the tree, my body spinning, feet stumbling about in a desperate attempt to regain balance. Dazed from the impact, I ducked down instinctively and planted my arm down on the uniformly cut grass, pushing off in a desperate attempt to continue to move forward and righten my offset balance.

 _Ptheew…Squelch!_

"AAAGH!" I screamed as I felt the rough stone tip pierce through and tear into soft flesh and muscle tissue, effectively knocking me off my feet, my crooked momentum flipping me to the side as I hit the ground. I felt the shaft snap and the arrow dig further in as I landed on my back, prompting another cry of pain. My eyes watered and the status screen flickered to life again, but I couldn't make anything out through my blurred vision.

Another high pitch screech pierced the skies and my eardrums, snapping me back to reality and kicking my brain back into survival mode as I gritted my teeth and quickly rolled to the side. I heard another arrow shoot off and dig itself into the dirt patch where I'd previously laid which brought new energy to my legs as I scrambled to my feet and took off again. More arrows followed and they were getting more and more accurate, signaling my foe was gaining ground. The surrounding tree cover was my only saving grace as I huffed and bobbed and weaved out and around trunks like some kind of panicked wild animal. Which, at this point, wasn't too far from the truth.

It worked. Arrows smacked and imbedded themselves harmlessly into the oak trees around me, each audible strike prompting another burst in speed from my legs. Soon, those shots started to get more and more spaced out as the tree line thickened and the echoing cries of the spider jockey grew more and more faint. I felt a twinge of hope rise from my chest and I sprinted even faster, pushing my body seemingly beyond what I would've otherwise considered normal limitations, whizzing and zipping by tree after tree, anxious to leave the dangerous monster far behind me.

Then all at once, it ended.

Dread washed over me as I burst through the last thick grove, my feet once again digging into the ground on reaction and causing me to slide right to the edge of a huge cliff. With no time to reflect at just how close I'd come to careening right off it, a quick look down gave me no reprieve to pit of despair forming ever so slowly in my stomach because the top was arched just slightly enough to where the usual step-stone pattern that normally followed mountainous drops like these was a good ten block fall. Or was it more? Damn it, why did it have to be so dark? Regardless, it was probably more than enough to break something. I looked around hurriedly, hoping there was another path to take, but there was nothing. It was back into the woods to get down or over this cliff.

 _pts…sss…_

"Oh, come on…"

A chill ran down the back of my spine and my heart stopped as I whipped back around to see…it. The one creature that had become one of the most famous icons in this game and the one that spelled out death for every new player. Coming out from behind the treeline was a hideous pillar of wrinkled, molded skin, supported by four stubby stumps with large talons that protruded from them and dug into the grass below. It's glowing, malicious red eyes locked on mine and its mouth opened up into a salivating black void with two rows of tiny sharp teeth stretched into an impossibly wide frown that would have been enough to make veteran players run for their lives. Only, I couldn't run.

The creeper let out a menacing hiss before it moved forward, its four little stumps scampering across the ground in a sort of brisk run. I had only seconds to act before it was close enough to detonate and my head darted back to the edge of the cliff. I couldn't remember how far Steve could be allowed to fall and still manage to live and even if I survived the fall, who knows if my legs could withstand that kind of impact. There was no more time to think about it, as I heard the creeper behind me start to hiss again and the sound of a fuse being lit.

"This is a really bad idea!" I shouted in fear and frustration before steeling my mind, running the last few blocks towards the edge and leaping off.

For a moment, I felt weightless. The night breeze ruffled my shirt playfully as I ascended towards the night sky, my head turned back towards my pursuer, hoping beyond hope it wouldn't have the courage or the bloodlust to jump after me. Thankfully, it had stopped. Right at the edge of the cliff, only half inflated, and hissing angrily, but harmlessly from its secluded perch. However, my eyes widened and panic spiked up from the pit of my stomach as I noticed one more thing. The unmistakable glint of an arrow being notched and the light hue of bone poking through the dark recessed tree line in the moonlight. All that I heard in that last fleeting second before I started to descend from my fall, was the twang of an arrow as it found its target. Right into the back of the creeper.

 _PtsssssSSSSSS…BOOM!_

The sudden expansion of chemicals, components, or whatever the hell a creeper hides inside its disgusting green husk, combusted and turned the world around me into a rushing mass of white fire. As the high burst of force and heat propelled straight into my back, it felt what little protection my shirt could offer quickly burn away and the flesh beneath simultaneously ripped apart and seared from the expansion of white death. My breath caught in my throat as my mind desperately raced to relate _anything_ from its predetermined knowledge that would measure up to what had just occurred. For the briefest of moments, I was allowed an iota of peace as a shot of cold numbness spread throughout my limbs. Right until the flash of the status screen flickered at the farthest corner of my vision.

All at once, everything came back into focus and I screamed a blood curling scream I hadn't known I'd even been capable of making. A scream, that was cut abruptly short as my body slammed into the ground below.

 **Holy cripes…uh, yeah. That's that then. GG.**

 **Uh, heya guys. Heh. I know, it's been a long time. Most of you have probably forgotten about me and/or are just** _ **pissed**_ **about my sudden discontinuation of this story, then the announced remake, and then the SECOND unofficial/unsaid postponement of that. So, in regards to all that…I don't really think sorry begins to cover an apology. Not really sure what does. Not really going to try and make any excuses about my situation at home or life either since its kinda just that. An excuse, not a justification. I can only say that this is my attempt to revamp and re-motivate myself into getting this thing written and done right this time.**

 **So, for those that feel like chewing me out, let me tell ya what! DO IT IN A REVIEW! xD.**

 **In all seriousness, I know this chapter is a bit short and to be honest, it's literally being posted right now so I can just get it done and started so I can force myself to bring my focus back to remaking this story as I had wanted to for so long. But please, if you have anything at all you want to say, good or bad, please leave me a review. I won't say it's for motivation for me, even though it does help, I only ask that you do so if you want to and if you have any actual criques on my writing, please SHARE! I'm always open to critique and really appreciate anyone who actually takes the time to examine the quality of the story as well as appreciate it.**

 **Thank you all. You'll hear from me again. And sorry about taking the last version of this down, but I think I'd be in violation of the guidelines if I didn't do it unfortunately. So...yeah. This has to outdo the last one.  
**

 **Until next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter `2

Darkness fitted the damp cavernous depths like slow creeping fog, swallowing what little light managed to seep through from the entrance more and more after each echoing footfall. From deep within, faint moans, scratches, and clicks could be heard bouncing off the smooth cube-like stone, promising nothing but death or danger for any who chose to explore further. To her though, they were nothing more than nuisances that would be dealt with should any dare to cross her path. None ever did. Those curious enough to investigate turned away once they caught sight of her dim white glow cutting through their precious darkness. They did well to fear her. She was meant to be feared. _Made_ to be feared.

As she continued down, the restless mob ambience grew louder and more defined. The fork she'd just passed was a spiders den where two or three of them seemed to be in conflict over something or other due to their frequent and high pitched screeching. Ahead of her, two skeletons stood by an underground stream, making frenzied and quick clicks and clacks, the one to the right gesturing to his bow before thrusting an accusatory limb towards the other. Both of their meaninglessly bickering coupled with the escalating cries from the spiders behind her was enough to make her lip curl up in irritation. Without so much as a word, she eased the grip on her diamond pickax, letting it slide through her palm and banging it loudly on the stone below. The first time was enough to grab the skeletons attention. By the second, she recognized the distinct and utter look of terror behind their otherwise hostile red gaze. On the third, both of them were moving as quickly as their brittle bones would carry them down another divergent tunnel and the incessant screeching from behind her ceased, casting the cavern into an eerie silence. Her previously irritated sneer now grew into a satisfied smile.

Better.

Not another sound interrupted her journey as she made her way through the sprawling network of underground tunnels. Down here, the pitch blackness masked your sense of sight like an inky blindfold, giving just enough clarity to show the darkness here was not stationary, but blended in its surroundings and covering them in a blurred, inky blanket. It was conditions like these which caused even the most courageous of adventurers to shiver and flinch at every shadow and every sound. But she did not share this same condition. Darkness was meant to inflict unease and provide the predators of the night cover from which to wait and strike from. However, her glowing eyes cut through it like a beacon, but instead of acting like a beacon to attract every manner of peril her way, it acted solely as an indication of just who the real monster was that lurked among them. A power with which she savored and flaunted to her inferior brethren every chance she got. And she took great pleasure in it.

There was no one she answered to, save only those who were strong enough to oppose her. That was how this world worked. Those who were strong imposed their will on the weak and the weak bowed down in submission. There was no in between. Right now, there was only one whom she answered to. One person alone was capable of opposing her. Her creator.

More specifically, her father.

She rounded the next bend and her rocky environment soon gave way to a more symmetrical and textured landscape. Lips of brick contrasted harshly against the wide, open mouth of the cave she was now exiting from. Despite the more polished interior and design of her abode, several cracks lined the walls, distorting the otherwise perfectly set bricks while others were being slowly being overtaken by moss. No mobs could be heard from within. Even the silverfish that normally skittered around her dwelling knew when their master came home. Her footsteps seemed to echo a little louder, the long flat corridors allowing her authoritative steps to ring long past where she approached. If the little insects did not know of her presence before, they surely knew it now.

She walked past the first door frame, having removed the many pre-existing iron doors a long time ago. Their shining, bright appearance was not welcome in this abode and she did not care for anything to disturb the atmosphere she wished to set. Descending past the first set of steps that led to the second floor sublevel, she passed one of the only dimly lit rooms in her home, a vast array of bookshelves and spider webs flashing past the outskirts of her vision. She would have time to visit later. Right now, she was being summoned.

At the end of the hall, lay the last room of her stronghold. The open doorway held a faint red aura emanating from within. An aura that was only ever present from the redstone torches that dotted the inner walls, ones that she never lit and always made sure to extinguish once leaving the room. The only reason they would ever be relit was when _he_ required her appearance. Her satisfied smile from before had long since dropped, replaced only with a stoic expression and a mild frown. She entered.

He was not there. No, he hardly ever graced her with his presence and when he did, it was either because of necessity or dissatisfaction. Whenever this was the case was the only time the emotion of fear that she inflicted on every creature she laid her eyes upon ever came back to her. Except it always came back tenfold for her. Dissatisfaction was never a mood she ever wanted to catch him in. Thankfully, this was not one of those times.

Dutifully, she approached the only other object in the room. The purple swirls and sway of the semi-solid gel that swished about inside of its dark, amethyst frame bulged for a moment and then flashed a lighter shade as he spoke to her from behind it.

"You are here daughter." His fragmented and distorted voice stated from across their separate dimensions.

"Yes." She stated briefly, her own voice without tone or inflection, yet the very fact that she responded to this at all showed her submission to him and the will he was about to impose on her.

"Good. I will not waste time." He said, his tone very clear in implying that this task, whatever it may be, was beneath him to linger on for long. Yet it required enough attention to call her to do his bidding. This had her intrigued. " _He_ has chosen his servant. Find him. Watch him for me and report back what you learn. If he proves to be any sort of a hindrance to me, I. Must. Know." He paused, letting the implications of that statement settle with her. "Am I understood daughter?"

It wasn't a question. The fact that he worded it this way at all showed the amount of respect he had for her. But respect was all. "Yes. Father." She made no move to ask for any more information. If it was needed, he would've have provided it. Whomever she was meant to find would seemingly show himself soon. There was no doubt in her mind.

The portal in front of her flashed no more and the torches around her were extinguished all at once. He had left and now she had a job to do.

So, without another word, she too vanished

* * *

"Ugh…"

I groaned, slowly drifting away from the involuntary slumber I'd been thrust into and back into the painful reality that was currently pulsing throughout my muscle tissue. Ooo, everything hurts. Why does everything hurt? What happened? Questions pounded against my forehead like the beat of a drum, alongside the actual rhythmic throbs that were making for one hell of a headache. I elicited another light groan and felt my body move against something soft, yet cool. I needed to open my eyes. I needed to know where I was. Maybe then I could piece together why I or someone else put my body through so much abuse to deserve my present treatment.

Slowly, I cracked open my right eye and immediately regretted my decision as a blinding light flared against my unprepared pupil. I opened my mouth to cry out, but my throat felt so dry that the only thing that came forth was a quiet, hoarse gasp. I tried swallowing, but the spit meant that was meant to add relief and lubrication ended up getting lodged through halfway, making me throw my head to the side in a violent coughing fit.

As I struggled to breathe, internally mourning my less than great condition, I heard the distinct sound of heavy feet patting against wood. Raising a hand to my mouth and planting one against the soft fabric underneath me, I turned my head to their direction, forcing my eyes open again with more success this time. The light from before still glared against my eyes, making the small figure down at the other end of the room blurred and indiscernible, but that didn't stop my ears from picking up a tiny high pitched squeal.

"You woke up!" I heard an excited, young and undeniably feminine, child's voice exclaim from the doorway.

My vision was starting to clear up and having regained control over my lungs, I used my free hand to wipe away the sleepers from my eyes. After a few more blinks, my eyes finally adjusted to the sunlight beaming down from the window next to my bed, and I got my first good look at the girl that had spoken to me. I could hardly believe what I saw.

The cute little girl standing at the foot of some oak wood plank stairs that led to what I assumed was the first floor of whatever house I was in was maybe three feet or so tall with long braided orange tinted brown hair that fell down over her left shoulder and enclosed in some kind of homemade rope band. Freckles dotted her cheeks and she was dressed in a long green robe that was styled to look more like a dress, tending all the way down past her feet. My jaw dropped. It couldn't be. There were no humans in minecraft other than the player. Except…

Villagers?!

In my stunned silence, another set of footfalls started making their way delicately up the stairs and the child turned towards them. "Mommy! Mommy! Look! He's finally awake!"

"Oh? Well that's wonderful news Tia." I heard another feminine voice reply, but this one was much more controlled than the overly excited girl's. Yet, it had such a smooth, melodic tone that also carried a certain kind of adoring softness that only mothers could use in that special way with their children. If I were to try and mimic it, it'd surely sound fake. Regardless, one she came into view from behind the adjacent wall, my jaw successfully broke the laws of physics and finished its journey all the way down to the floor.

There was no mistaking it. They were daughter and mother. However, considering how similar the two looked and how young the older woman looked, hell they could've been sisters. She was a little less than twice the height of her daughter with the same braid, but draped over the opposite shoulder. God, they even shared the same exact robe/dress design, though hers was tightly hugging the very bottom end of her shoulders instead of closer to the neck like her daughter. There was only one difference I could spot between them. She didn't share her daughter's freckled cheeks. Actually, there wasn't so much as a single blemish to her cream colored skin at all!

She was almost too perfect. It was like looking at a depiction of a goddess brought to life. And when she turned her grassy colored emerald eyes on mine, she gave me the most dazzling smile. I swear I even saw her teeth sparkle, they were so white! "Good morning." She said in that same caring, motherly tone. "I'm so glad you finally woke up. How are you feeling?"

I remained silent, still too much in shock from the fact that the formerly unaesthetically designed Squidwards of the game were, well, like this! How the heck was this possible? How do you go from an old, bald, uptight, big-nosed merchant to _that_?! Why weren't they blocky and textured like everything else in this game?! Why did she have to be so freaking beautiful?! And why are they both looking at me like I've gone cra-. Oh, wait, that last sentence was a question…

Right.

Summoning every last ounce of what little sanity was left in my brain, I put on a small smile. "Feeling…alri-" My already butchered voice cracked as I was again reminded of the severe lack of moisture in my throat and doubled over once again into another coughing fit.

At once, I heard her troubled steps hasten to my bedside, followed by a small metallic clink as something was set down on the small nightstand beside me. When I turned back to look at her, I instantly regretted my decision. She was so close! Less than a few inches away, arched eyebrows over concern eyes looked straight into mine with worried, parted lips made me swallow hard as I tried to fight to keep myself from getting embarrassed. She then moved up a little, lifting a hand and placing a palm against my forehead.

"Oh dear, you do feel a bit warm." She mused worriedly.

I wished the condition of my rapid rise in temperature was due to some sort of illness, any kind of illness. I really, really wished it was and I could convince myself that I was more innocent than that, but I'd be lying and I was a terrible liar. I couldn't stop my face from turning as red as it could possibly get as I stared at them. Unintentionally, mind you! I swear it was! Even so, I found myself frozen as my eyes were leveled at the two very generously proportioned mounds that I tried to explicitly block out when I looked over her the first time! I felt a nervous quiver in my stomach as I tried multiple times to gulp down the growing lump in my throat.

Slowly, god ever so slowly she finally lowered her face back down to mine and I had to beat back the urge to sigh in relief. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? You look really red." She asked, her tone even more concerned now than before. Evidently, she hadn't caught on to the true reasons behind any of my apparent 'symptoms'. Thank the Lord for small blessings. However, peeking around from behind her back, I caught the faintest glimpse of a knowing smile from the daughter.

One last time, I pulled myself together and put on a smile that I hope didn't look as nervous and stupid as it felt. "Y-Yeah…f-fine…" I replied, praying that she would think that hoarse stutter was just another side effect from my throat and/or injuries. Injuries, by the way, that weren't doing their blasted simple jobs of causing me any sort of distraction from the overly attractive woman in front of me. My eyes darted around desperately, hoping to focus in on just about anything else, when I spotted what she had set down on the adjacent table. A silver tray with food and…sweet Mary and Joseph, was that water?!

Following my prolonged gaze, she broke away from me, reaching for the glass bottled. "Oh, right, you must be thirsty! I'm so sorry!" She said hastily, uncorking the bottle, cupping her hand under the bottom and started moving it towards me. Wait, was she going to hold it for me to drink?! Oh, nononono, I do not need anything else to turn me into a blushing idiot again!

I quickly met her hand halfway, gently taking the bottle from her, much to her surprise. I then brought the cold, clear liquid to my lips and took a long, steady drink. Oh my gosh, that was so relieving! Who would have thought water could taste so good? Once I started, I couldn't put the bottle down, and I gradually drained every last drop.

"Aaaaah…" I sighed heavily, grateful to have my voice back at its normal pitch. "Thank you…so much…" I breathed, huffing a bit from the effort of drinking the whole thing in one go. Maybe it wasn't the best idea after all. My throat was now wetted and satisfied, but my body still demanded more liquids. I looked back up at the angel that had brought me this wonderful bounty. "Sorry…but could I ask for another glass?" I asked, my smile curling up sheepishly in slight embarrassment.

She seemed to disregard this though and straightaway shot up with an accommodating look on her face. "Of course! I'll bring you one and let you eat and rest." She then turned and headed straight for the stairway. As if on cue, the daughter slunk out from around her withdrawing mother and started to approach me with another excited look. And almost equally on cue, the mother stopped at the doorway, whipping back around to address her daughter. "Tia. Come on, let's let him in eat in peace."

The girl's face fell. "Aw, but Mooom…I wanted to talk to him…" She whined and I had to hold back a chuckle. She was so cute.

"No buts Tia. Maybe when he's feeling better, you can talk to him. Okay sweetie?" She pleaded with her daughter, gesturing for her to rejoin her.

She looked over at her mother, then back at me with a conflicted look before turning around dejectedly and walking towards her mother. "Ok mom…"

As much as it might sound silly, it breaks my heart whenever a child looks sad. Especially over something as simple as wanting to talk to someone. I watched as she covered the last few steps to her mother's side, head hung low and downtrodden. Geez, I just couldn't let her leave like that. "Hey," I called over to her. Both her and her mother looked back over to me and I offered them both a sincere smile. "We can talk right after. I don't mind at all."

Man, you should've seen the way the kid's face lit up at that. "Yay!" She exclaimed. She then went to go descend the steps, but stopped after the first, popping her head back around. "Eat quick!" She added before trampling down the steps. Her mother giggled and shook her head, going to head down herself. But, not before giving me such a thankful and warm smile that I couldn't help but feel happy about my simple deed.

Alone at last, I let out another sigh of relief and shifted myself backwards until my back was propped up semi-comfortably against the planked wall behind me. Huh? What was that?

I reached a hand behind me and felt up my back, eyebrows raising once I felt the rough padded bandage material that seemed to be veering almost all of my entire backside. Jeez, what happened the heck happened to me to warrant this much…oh. Suddenly, everything came rushing back. Running, the mob infested forest, the skeleton, and that dang creeper. How was I even alive after taking an explosion from one of those with hardly any armor and so close? However, all of this became moot once I had one intrinsic and long overdue realization.

The only article of clothing I had on me were my black boxers. This whole time.

I blushed heavier than I ever had before.

 **Alright guys, second chapter done and longer than the first. Okay, getting back into it. I Really hope my writing skill hasn't diminished too much for you guys and again, if you have ANYTHING at all to say about it or the story, or any tips or realizations that you feel need to be shared, please say it in a review! And while we're on the subject, holy cow! Five reviews after just one chapter?! And from the same reoccurring readers that were with me from the beginning? Wow…**

 **Guys, I really can't express the amount of gratitude and happiness it brought me when I saw your reviews and words of encouragement just a day after posting my first chapter of this reboot. It really help spark that fire to get back into doing this. So, like before, I'm asking you guys again. I know before I asked for only seven reviews to guarantee a chapter on a weekly basis and I'd grateful to obtain that again, but if we could reach ten or even more, gosh you guys have no idea how much of an encouragement that would be if we could reach that point. So come on! Add wood to the fire! Turn my spark into a blazing inferno and I swear I'm gonna keep translate all of your encouragements, tips, and critiques onto paper and hopefully create the story you all deserve!**

 **Also, as a side note, if you guys have any ideas or requests you want from the story, feel free to post those as well! They will certainly be considered!**

 **Thank you all.**

 **Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Is he done yet?" Tia asked anxiously shifting back and forth on her feet from the foot of the stairs.

Alice smiled at her daughter's overly enthusiastic attitude, but shook her head as she descended from the top step. "Not yet Tia. He's only just started his meal."

"Awwww." Her daughter pouted, crossing her arms.

She rose up a hand to her mouth to suppress a small giggle. "How about we sit down to eat too? Aren't you hungry?" She asked, attempting to divert her daughter's attention away from their guest.

"Ummm…" Her pouty face wavered as she struggled to keep it on her face. Not soon after her comment, Tia's body answered for her and let out a moderate, but elongated growl. Betrayed by her own stomach, she sighed and her cheeks flushed a bit in mild embarrassment at her act being refuted so easily. "Yeah…ok mom."

Alice smiled lightly at her daughter's behavior. What she had done to deserve a child like her, she never knew. Even from as an infant, she was hardly fussy and to see her growing up so fast made touched her heart in ways she could hardly describe. It gave her so much joy at moments like this where Tia showed maturity seemingly beyond her years. She watched her wander over to the other side of their humble home and open the chest by the dinner table. Ablock of pride swelled in her chest as Tia went to set the table. Truly, she was blessed.

Which is why when she turned over to the adjacent wall lined with various kitchen blocks and opened the chest by the stairs, her eyes fell, and her smile disappeared in an instant. Quickly, she bent over the contents inside to conceal both her distress and the meager contents inside should her daughter decide to wander back over too soon. She knew. Of course she knew this would happen. Worry began to bubble up inside her as she looked down at what remained of their food storage. Three loaves of bread, six potatoes, and maybe a dozen or so carrots. They wouldn't last another day between the now three household occupants and her only source of income wasn't due for a return for at least three more days. If not longer! Maybe if it had been just her and her daughter, she could've made it last. If she just hadn't been so quick to take in their strange new guest and treat his injuries, maybe she could've taken the medical supplies she used and sold them to tide them over.

Almost at once, she felt a pang of guilt at her selfish and distasteful thoughts. She couldn't have left him like that. Sprawled out face first on the front step of her home, his back so scarred and bloody that she at first assumed he'd died there. She remembered feeling horrified at the sight. Not just because of his, unbeknown to her at the time, only near fatal state, but because she feared he'd crawled there at night while they slept. Notch, she couldn't imagine him clutching at the cobblestone steps at her door, desperate for safety, but too weak to manage more than a feeble knock. She shivered at the possibility.

"Okay mom! I set the table." She heard her daughter exclaim proudly from behind her. She nearly gasped at Tia's enthusiastic statement of her accomplishment, quickly grabbing a loaf and two potatoes before plastering a smile back on her face andand swif shutting the chest. As she turned around, Tia was between her and the table, both arms out in a sweeping gesture. "Tada!" She exclaimed with a bright smile on her face.

She had to fight back against the water slowly trying to form behind her eyes, holding a hand up to her mouth as she laughed at Tia's cute innocent, happy gesture. "That's wonderful honey." She replied, taking great care to keep the quiver from the bottom of her throat from getting through to her voice. "Why don't you take a seat? We can have a few slices of bread while we wait on the potatoes to bake."

"Okay!" She chirped happily, almost skipping over towards her designated chair.

She couldn't tell her. Not now. If she was careful, perhaps she could just eat a small amount during each meal and simply miss a day or two. It wouldn't have been the first time. She drew in a quiet, sharp breathe, grabbing a flint and steel to ignite the stationary logs under the furnace. How long could she keep this up? Business wasn't picking up. If anything, she'd been slowly losing clients. The money she'd saved up for herself before Tia was now all but dried up. She had nothing left to fall back on.

Her hand trembled as she went to grab the butcher's knife from the side of her crafting table and once she caught it, she took a deep breath to steady it. Luckily Tia had found a distraction for herself, as she heard the tell tale happy hum that she only ever used when she was drawing something. Alice let out a relieved sigh. No, no more. She couldn't act like this. Not in front of her daughter. She would find a way to support them. Surely one of the other girls in town needed a helping hand. Maybe she could go work with Violet? She heard she was in need of an assistant as of late. Even if it meant late nights and long days, she could do it. She would do it. Whatever it took.

Just as she went to slice into the loaf of bread, she was interrupted by three short, hard raps on the door. She heard Tia's hum trail off as she looked up from her drawing, Alice herself looking at the door in confusion. Who could that be? Most of the others were working at this hour. Oh, it must be Finnick. Maybe he got here with his shipment a little earlier than expected?

Before she could decide, Tia jumped out of her seat and headed straight for the door. "I'll get it!"

Alice watched for a moment as Tia reached up on her tippy toes to grab the door handle before moving her attention back to the bread with a small smile. Finnick was normally only one for business, but he seemed to open up a little more with Tia than anyone else she'd seen him with. She could let them talk for a few seconds while she finished.

But the next words she heard made her blood run cold.

"Why, hello there Tia." A deceitfully sweet and hushed tone uttered from the doorway. It was soon followed by her a nervous squeak from Tia and in less than a second, she felt her scurry behind her robe, her tiny fingers digging into the fabric timidly. Alice froze, the man's words echoing around in her mind as it tried fervently to deny the recognition of the man's voice. It wasn't until she heard the heavy thumps of his boots clomping against her planked floors, did she turn and look at him.

"Hello, Alice." He grinned, drawing out the last syllables of her name in a creeper-like hiss. "It's good to see you…" His voice trailed off and she soon felt his warm breathe on her neck, followed by a quick kiss. The touch of his lips sent a spark of heat against the side of it, a small spark igniting as he pulled away, her body emitting a tiny shudder from the sensation. In all the wrong ways.

It was enough to break her out of her trance. She knew why he was here. There was only ever one reason he came. But why so soon? He wasn't due to be back in town for another week! Biting down on the overwhelming amount of anxiety that was starting to take hold of her, she managed to gather enough courage to respond. "H-Hello…Joshua." His grin only grew at that and she internally kicked herself for stuttering. She cleared her throat in an attempt to dismiss it as just an issue with her throat. She doubted he bought it. "What brings you into town so soon?"

He didn't respond at first, deciding instead to move past her. Tia shifted uncomfortably beside her as he approached and shuffled to the other side of her. Instinctually, she found herself moving in turn, her motherly desire to protect her child taking over. However, Joshua drew his attention to the bread loaf on the counter. He then reached out to take the loaf that had been cut and took a bite, chewing slowly. Despite the numerous more serious concerns that spouted from his sudden appearance here, her mind could not help but mourn the loss of another parcel of food. Especially to him.

After he'd finished his bite, he turned his head to her, still wearing that devilish grin. "Am I not allowed to visit you or my daughter when I please?"

 _You never come for her!_ The thought almost escaped from her lips, but she was just barely able to hold her tongue. He was toying with her, part of his little games he liked to play on his 'visits'. It disgusted her to no end, but angering him would make things much worse. She knew that. Even so, she lowered her head, moving her left arm behind her and clenching it tightly. With everything else happening right now, why? Why did she have to subject herself to this?!

"M-Mom…?" Tia stammered quietly from below her, her hands still tightly wrapped around the hem of her dress. Of course. She was the reason. She had to be strong. She had to endure this. For Tia.

With a quick breathe, she put on her best warm smile and knelt down to her daughter, running a hand through her hair before stopping at her cheek. "It's okay Tia." She soothed. "Why don't you go out and play with Aunty Clarice and Sisti for a little while? I'm sure they would love to see you after being gone for the past couple days."

Tia looked up at her uncertainly, stealing a glance back towards Joshua. "B-But what about you Mommy? They want to see you too."

Alice turned briefly to looked back to Joshua. The bastard was currently wandering back towards the opposite end of the house. His arms were crossed behind his back, refusing to even look at the distress he was causing their child. No, her child. Tia didn't mean anything to him. He'd never been there for her. His bi-annual visits were only geared towards one purpose and when he cocked his head to the side, she could catch the hint of an impatient frown.

"I'll be there later honey." She said, making sure to keep her smile as she pulled Tia in for a quick hug. She would need every bit of the strength and resolve it brought her. Her daughter returned her embrace with just as much sentiment. Even though she was too young to understand what happened when she sent her away like this, Tia was smart enough to know it wasn't pleasant. Alice kissed the top of her head. "You go on ahead. Give them both my best okay?" She said, releasing her and giving her a gentle push away.

At first, Tia didn't move towards the door. She lingered there, those short few steps away, looking back at her with large eyes. It took every bit of her self control not to drop her façade and scoop her up right then and there and run. Just run. Get as far away from this place as possible. As far away from him as possible. But, where would they go? There was nowhere in the kingdom that she could run that he could not travel. Nowhere she could hide that he wouldn't find them. It was a foolish thought with even more foolish consequences. So, she only offered a small wave and prayed to Notch that Tia wouldn't notice the tears she felt forming in the back of her eyelids.

She did not and with one last glance between her and her father, Tia slowly made her way to the door and left. Leaving her all alone. With him.

Neither of them spoke for a minute, Joshua continued his pacing on the opposite end of the room while she picked herself up from the ground. She turned back to face him, but his back was to her. He was focused on something else in the room. Something recently added in wake of their new-oh no. Their guest! He was still upstairs!

"I see you've moved the bed." Joshua commented with a hint of curiosity. He looked back at her, his sickening smile from before returning. "How thoughtful of you." He then wasted no time in removing his elegantly designed vest, laying it down across the tableside.

While he was making himself comfortable, she snuck a look to the stairs. She hadn't heard so much as a sound from upstairs. He hadn't called for her since she had brought him that second drink. Surely he would have finished it by now. It wasn't a particularly large meal. Could it be that he had simply fallen asleep after he had finished? But, he'd also said he was willing to talk with Tia afterwards.

She gulped, a new sensation of unease enveloping her. What if he came down here while they were…

Hurriedly, she made her way back to the kitchen counter, using the knife and bread loaf to preoccupy herself with. Now closer to the foot of the steps, she could hear nothing from up above. No creaks or groans from the bedsprings, but also no indication of snoring. That both relieved and worried her. The absence of both still left her earlier question unanswered and her nerves even more nervous than they had been before.

"Alice." She jumped a little at the call of her name. "Help me with my boots?"

When she turned to look at him, she found he had since taken a seat on the extra bed her and her daughter had recently shared. He had since undone his scabbard belt and the buttons at the top of his shirt, his expectant gaze focused on her. His request was hardly anything but. He'd shown her from the start that he liked to be pampered. To have her serve him before they lay down together. So when she did not move from her position, all the earlier pleasantries dropped.

"Alice…" He hissed warningly.

She hesitated, conflicting thoughts running rampant in her mind. She lived on the outskirts of the village. Hardly anyone, save for Clarice, knew about what happened between her and Joshua when he came around. If the man from upstairs heard them and spread the news to the rest of the town, she'd be humiliated. But then, what did that matter? She'd already endured countless disgraceful acts between them. Of course, that was just it. It was only between them. No one else knew their secret. If it got out, Notch, she couldn't imagine the looks everyone would give her. The judgement. The names. What little of a reputation she had with her town, with her friends, destroyed in an instant.

Suddenly, she heard the bed screech loudly against the floorboards and angry steps approaching her. She didn't have time to react as she felt a harsh fingers grip her shoulders tightly and whirl her violently around. In her surprise, she felt the kitchen knife slip from her grasp with a clang against the floor and she found herself staring straight into Joshua's glowing red eyes.

"Have you forgotten your place Alice?" He hissed through clenched teeth. "Do you not remember what I do for you?" His grip on her shoulders tighten to the point where it stung and she let out a small whimper. He leaned in until his head was just beside her ear. " _I_ am the only reason you have a roof over your head and a place in this village! And I can take all of it away whenever it so suits me." He growled into her ear. "So if you care for your daughter at all, you will do as I wish."

No sooner than those words were spoken, she felt his arms forcibly shove her back, her shoulders slamming against the back wall with a thud. She let out a pained cry, her body slumped against the counter as she felt one of Joshua's hands move to her neck. The other was fiddling with his belt, gradually getting more and more frustrated at the difficulty of removing it with only one appendage. She watched helplessly, her face scrunching up and she thought to herself that she never should have angered him. She should've just accepted things from the start, regardless of the risks. Now she would have to face the consequences.

Tears that she'd tried for so long to stall began to push past her eyelids and she felt her breathe catch in her throat. Notch, why? Why did this have to happen to her? She was so tired. Tired of being used. Tired of her own inability to provide for her and her daughter. She didn't want this. More than anything she wished this could all be taken away. That she could just live her life with Tia in peace. No debt. No Joshua. Just her. Her and Tia. She shut her eyes and hoped for once, it would be quick.

 _Crash!_

"AGH!"

Her eyes snapped open as she heard something shatter in front of her, followed by Joshua's pained yell. It was hard to tell through her tear stained vision, but she made out Joshua's stumbling form clutching a hand to his face. She blinked rapidly and was soon able to make out his face and the red streaks trickled down from between his fingers. "What the fuck?!" He growled from under his hand.

"You know, there's very few things that will make me angry in this world." She heard a voice say from her side, followed by measured, but heavy stomps. "One." _Thump._ "Anyone that tries to hurt people I care about." _Thump._ Alice watched in stunned silence as the man she'd previously tended to, descended down the last step in front of her. "Two." He stated, as he covered the last few steps to Joshua's unsteady form. Without any further warning, he raised his foot up and rocketed it forward, catching Joshua across the chest and sending him sprawling backwards across the width of her tiny house. "Arrogant pricks like you who think that they can do whatever they want because they think they have power."

She could hardly believe what she was seeing. The very same person that showed up half dead on her doorstep not three days before, was now striding steadily across her home as if he was never injured at all. Not only that, but he was walking straight. Fighting, even! The bandages across his back strained from tension of his shoulder held upright and back, however she saw no blood or stains. No reopening of the no doubt many wounds that should have been greatly hindering him.

Joshua smacked hard against the sturdy oak door with another shout, his body beginning to bounce back forward from the impact. But by that time the man had covered the distance between them and his hand shot up, catching Joshua by the neck momentarily. She just barely caught a quiet grunt as he forcibly slammed Joshua's head against its frame. "Three." He growled, his voice lowering down to such a threatening tone that she would've ever thought him capable from his previously docile behavior. "Anyone who lays their hands on a woman."

Joshua coughed, his mouth straining against the hand clamped across his throat. "Y-You…little…" He didn't get out anymore than that, as the man drew back his free arm, bring it down low and fast before delivering what looked like a powerful punch to Joshua's stomach. Anything else he wanted to say was immediately replaced by an unintelligible gasp for air.

The man wasted no more time, pulling Joshua back and throwing open the door before both of them. "Now get the hell out." He stated coldly before hunching down and practically throwing Joshua outside. She had just enough time to see him bounce painfully against the side of her cobblestone steps before the man shut the door on him. Just like that, it was over.

Their mysterious guest had done the one thing she couldn't have done herself. Likely would never have done herself. And despite knowing all the dangerous implications of what he had done and the consequences that would no doubt follow, there was one thing that she couldn't help thinking. Much to her embarrassment, she found her focus drawn to a detail so preposterously unimportant, yet awkward enough to draw a faint blush to her face.

Her savoir had done this all in his underwear.

 **Hey guys, me again. Got this chapter done in a nick of time to keep my weekend quota and I'm happy to post it for you to read and enjoy. Thank you again to all the wonderful reviews, which I will be responding to from now on. So, if you have any little questions or suggestions for me about the story, rest assured, they will be answered at the posting of the next chapter. As always, please make sure to share your comments with me, as I do read every single one of them, sometimes more than once when I need the encouragement and it does help :D.**

 **Thank you all,**

 **Until next time.**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Miss Electricity:**

 **Thank you so much for the compliment Ms. Electricity. I'm to hear that my writing skills haven't gotten too rusty. I'm glad you shared your thoughts with me about the introduction and after going over it, I agree that maybe it was a bit longer than necessary. That being said, this one is shorter :P. I'm afraid I can't answer your question without giving things away, but look forward to seeing what others you may have and your thoughts on this chapter.**

 **GamehunterMC:**

 **You're actually pretty right about how everyone beats on Herobrine for being the typical villain in all these Minecraft stories. I'm I also cannot comment on that though, because it would spoil a few surprise twists I have planned, but rest assured I did think about that myself. I will do the best I can to keep you entertained and thanks so much for the suggestion. Can't wait to hear what else you have to say**

 **SSWTalon:**

 **Hey. Almost didn't recognize you from the change in name xD. Glad to have you back with us and thanks for your continuous support! That being said, be sure on counting on a lot of OCs returning from the original story. However, I will be cutting out two as to focus better on the character arcs of the main characters, as seven was a bit much to juggle and I feel a few were left underdeveloped. I hope to avoid that in the future. Look forward to hearing from you again my friend.**

 **Ansongunner:**

 **Haha, yeah I loved writing that part too. Don't worry, there's gonna be a lot of stuff like that happening in the reboot and I don't think you'll be disappointed. Thanks for your continued support and I'm really glad to hear you read the first story. I can only hope I'll make you think this one will be even better.**

 **Kinesis the multiverse expert:**

 **Good to be back bud. Thank you for the review. Hope to hear from you again**

 **Heavy1825:**

 **Lols. Glad to hear it man. I realize I kinda dropped the ball on the romance part of the story near the end and ended up kind of forcing something to happen because of a silly vote I made. This time, I will do my best to have justice for the romance of Zyeke and the other characters as the story progresses. Hope to have your support!**

 **Blegar1:**

 **Oh, sorry man xD. If you'd like, PM me sometime and I'll see if I can't send you the files from the old story to you over email. I still have them on my computer. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you like the first chapter. Feel free to share your thoughts on this one too!**

 **PrisonDictator:**

 **Yes, I finally got a hold of myself and started it back up. Really sorry it took so long, but all I can do now is press forward. Rest assured, its happening. Thanks for the review man.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Intimidation is a funny thing. Boiled down to its core, its very definition is to inflict fear on another with the intent of gaining something from them. It can be many things. Temporary loyalty, submission, isolation, the list goes on. One universal constant however, is that when anyone tries to employ this method, two general requirements must be fulfilled. One, the person must be or appear to be a threat to the one he or she wishes to intimidate. And two, the same person has to adopt a persona where an illusion of exaggerated might or presence is felt. In some cases, some people can give an impression like this at the drop of a hat. Usually, because they actually have experience in it or a background to fall back on in the first place. Even though I lacked the latter, I wasn't unfamiliar when it came to adopting personas. But, that doesn't mean it's easy.

As I stared on at the plainly textured oak door, the calm front I showed on the outside fell away a few inches below the skin. My hands were clenched into fists, but that was only because I knew if I uncurled them, they'd be quivering just like my breath. My heart was racing faster than I'd ever experienced before and I was struck by a sudden thought. This was the first time I'd fought against anyone. Since middle school anyway, but I couldn't have even called that confrontation a fight. Mainly, because I was just beaten. I didn't get the chance to throw so much as a single punch. It was a lot like this actually. Yet, everything was reversed. It was over in seconds and instead of me, my opponent was the one on the ground this time. I know that should've made me happy. That afternoon at the bus stop, after picking myself up and limping home, was the whole reason I started working to make sure that never happened again.

However, all that didn't meant anything when I felt my heart leap in my chest from the sudden _bang_ from the other side of the door. Good thing I locked it. What? Didn't know that you could lock them? Well duh, why else would they make that clicking sounds when you open them in game? And why the mobs could never get in.

"You, insignificant little whelp!" I heard what's his name shout from outside. "Do you have any idea who I am?!" Actually, I didn't, so I didn't bother to say so. Not that it stopped the banging from getting louder. Interestingly, the door visibly flexed against its hinges, yet no cracks appeared whatsoever. That settled one thing that had been on my mind then. Villager mobs weren't any stronger than regular humans. Or well, just me in this case I supposed. "You bastard! Let me in!" Oh yeah, should probably do something about that.

Taking in a small breathe, I closed my eyes and smiled. It really was too bad I had to waste that second glass water bottle Alice had brought me. However, after tearing into that loaf of bread with very little drink, had left my mouth salivating to compensate for the lack of moisture. Now, what did this have to do with anything? Well, this little action helped in causing a little build up of phlegm in the back of my throat. That's thick mucusy stuff that comes from the nose. Why does that matter now? Ever tried speaking through it? For those who have, it adds one very fun and interesting feature to your voice.

"Keep beating down on that door…" I growled, my words scraping past the bottom of my throat like gravel and my tone lowered to depths I'd never dreamed possible to reach on my own. It had the desired effect. The pounding immediately ceased. It was all the indication I needed to keep going, starting to enjoy myself a little now. "And I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever beat on."

Absolute silence. I could just picture the look on the guy's face. My smile grew and I just couldn't leave it at that. It was too much fun.

"Do I know who you are? Heh. Yeah. I know." I chuckled darkly, crossing my arms at the inanimate wooden barrier between us. I knew he couldn't see it, but that didn't matter. The action only served as an incentive for me to project an air of superiority from my body to my voice. "You're a coward. A lecherous, womanizing coward. Someone who preys on the weak and the desperate and runs from any real fight. Now, do you know who I am?" Not a sound emanated from outside. I smirked. "I'm the one who takes conniving little peons like you and shoves them back into the piles of crap they crawled out from. So, leave before I do."

Gotta say, after delivering lines I'd always jokingly practiced alone for a laugh, it was a much different experience actually getting to use them. I'd never actually gotten to do something like this. Closest I ever got was probably back in high school, but even then that was only for show. Just for drama class. Acting like this now, for real, not gonna lie, I felt like a badass. But, there's one issue that arises from too much intimidation. If you piss off your intended target too much, he won't give a damn about how tough you are or look. Turns out, that silence from before, it wasn't from fear.

That much was made clear from the unmistakable hiss of tnt from the other side of the door.

Reflexively, I threw my hands up and jumped back almost as soon as I heard the lethal sizzle. Tnt fuses were normally long and drawn out, so I should have had plenty of time to get away. Yet, mere moments after ignition, I let out a surprised grunt as a sudden explosion of white blasted tore through the feeble wooden barricade. Had I not had my hands up, I had no doubt I would've been blinded! The same white flames from before licked at my bare arms as the expansive gasses burst through the tiny opening, propelling my air-born body backwards with a lot more force than I'd prepared for.

My butt smacked against the hard wood floor, prompting another grunt before the rest of momentum sent me rolling haphazardly to the opposite wall. Pain spiked up and down my spine as my back slapped audibly against the completely _solid_ oak wall. Good gosh, what the hell happened to drywall and wood frame houses?! Augh.

"You…ignorant. Peasant. Bastard!" My head snapped up and I dived to the left, my right peripheral catching a flash of orange and yellow sparks. "I'll kill you!"

Moving on nothing but instinct, as soon as I come out of my roll, I was forced to dive further forward as the miniature block landed and quickly grew to its full size. Emitting a scream that I really hope wasn't as high pitched as the one I heard, another sizable explosion erupted behind me. Its white flames flared out against my back briefly before I was rocketed face first into the westward wall. I felt something in my nose crack as it was roughly shifted in a way I have no doubt it was ever meant to be, before twisting around and stumbling very disorderly off to the side. Fighting against the dizzying fuzziness encroaching on my brain, I forced my attention back on my opponent.

The nobleman's irate gaze was locked exclusively on me. My eyes drifted in and out of focus and I had to squint to see his left hand unclench as his right finger flicked towards it. A small spark shot forward from the ends of his fingers as he completed the motion, directly towards a mini tnt block that just spawned from absolutely nothing in his now open left palm. That was when it hit me. I had made a grave error in judgment. There was no way this guy could be a villager and pull something like that.

I was dealing with a creeper mob!

With seconds to act, my eyes flickered about in desperation, landing on a small table I'd apparently positioned myself in front of. No time to think on it, I quickly bent down and planted my hands on its underside and flipped it violently forward. Unprepared for the sudden retaliation, the noblemen tried too late to move out of the way, the table crashed into his side. But before I could rush forward to capitalize on this opportunity, my eye flicked over, momentarily, to the mini tnt block he'd been holding. And how it was sailing across the air towards the kitchen counter by the stairwell. The one Alice was still currently on.

My feet moved before my mind could even issue the command as my eye followed the spiraling block of death down. Time seemed to slow temporarily, just enough for my gaze to turn from the tnt's arc to Alice. Her mouth hung open wide in shock, her face twisting in absolute terror as she realized the danger she was in. She knew she wasn't going to get away in time. Even as she scrambled to get off the countertop, the block was almost to the ground. She wouldn't be able to escape the blast radius once it expanded. She was going to die. There was no way I could let that happen.

Alice never saw me coming. With her focus solely on the harbinger of her destruction, she let out a startled scream when she felt my hand clamp down on her arm. I yanked her hard, pulling her back in my direction as I continued forward. Stomping down on my front foot, my leg tingled as I forced all of my advancing momentum onto it, grunting as it bore the strain of making the sudden stop. There was no time to be gentle. The tnt block had landed. In the last remaining second as it began its expansion, I released her arm and twisted my upper body in a controlled quick burst. My other hand raised up, my palm dug into the middle of her back before transferring every ounce of power I had to give.

It worked. She soared off out of harm's way, tripping over herself from the sudden and unexpected boost, crashing to the ground with a high pitch yelp. I winced inwardly, but as my head swiveled back around to face the flashing block of tnt, I doubted she would have to worry about forgiving me. Bugger.

 _SSSss. Boom!_

The block exploded. My vision was plunged into a white haze and my eardrums burst from the thunderous roar. Not that I felt it that much. Oh no, if that had been the merciful extent of my suffering, I would have experienced it thrice more than what followed. At point blank range, it felt like every bone in my body broke simultaneously. It was as if someone that thrown me into a car compactor, except instead of being slowly crushed from all sides, it happened in an instant. Like someone using a crab cracker. _Snap! Crack! Snap!_ Then came the heat. God, the heat. What was left of my mind diverted all of its cognitive ability back to the memory of the creeper in the woods. Unlike last time, it now had the experience to draw from and paint a mural of agony across my body with masterful strokes and in explicit detail. The white flames from before engulfed me, the scorching fiery inferno searing into every inch of my skin, but it seemed to go even further beyond that. It felt like entire outer layer of my body melted, my blood literally feeling like it was boiling. My interior organs felt like they were bubbling up before bursting from the inside out. My eyes must've met the same fate after the blinding flash. The bright white light gave way suddenly to black nothingness, making my attention limited solely to the unbearable torment I felt inside.

And then…it stopped. Just vanished. Gone. Poof, just like that.

My eyes shot open and I gasped, taking in lungful after lungful of air. I found myself staring up at Minecraft's clear crystal blue sky. I blinked. A few cubed white clouds came into view. I was outside? What? How? Again, I caught something flashing from my bottom peripherals. I looked down and noticed my miniature status screen was flashing along the bottom lens of my glasses. No way. Eight drumsticks remained stationary along the right side of my vision. However, of the two rows of hearts, the entire bottom row and most of the top was entirely wiped out. Only four hearts remained, shaking and flashing frequently. But that wasn't what had me awestruck.

Above my exp bar, on both sides of the number 0 that resided there, four symbols were placed over top of it, two on either side. On the left was a shield and a sword with a single blood drop hanging of the tip. To the right, a white gust of wind and a rabbit. Resistance. Strength. Speed. Jump Boost. Slowly, a smile tugged at the edge of my lips. "Heh…Heheheh…" I chuckled. I couldn't help it. It was just something I did at times like these.

I started to get up. My whole body ached, but considering excruciating pain I'd just gone through only moments ago. Hah. This was nothing. As I rose to my feet, I felt my chuckles drop down past my throat, laughter bubbling up inside my chest. It really was just like the game. Lose a few hearts, not a problem. Your avatar would keep going as if nothing happened. My smile only grew wider as I took my first step towards the gaping hole in the side of the house that I'd been flung from, stepping past the full size blocks of oak planks that survived the explosion.

Looking inside as I approached, I spotted that noble prick in front of Alice again. He was shouting at her, but I didn't care enough to make out exactly what he was saying. I was too wrapped up in my own realizations. I had buffs. I was stronger, faster, tougher. I could take any amount of damage and get back up so long as I had the hearts. Hell, I just took an explosion right to face. I was powerful! Now that I knew that, he wasn't going to get another chance to do that again.

"Heheha ah ha ha hah." Laughter trickled up from within me, quiet and low, as I stepped back inside the house. Alice was the first to notice. The fearful look in her eyes was soon replaced with shock once she took her eyes off him and directed them to me. Funnily enough, the nobleman was too caught up in his own tirade that he didn't think to look behind him at first and only increased his volume. This only made me laugh louder.

When finally he heard me, his voice cut off immediately and he whirled around to face me. Oh, the look on his face. The sheer amount of utter disbelief, his eyes bulging as if a smack to the back of his head would make them pop out, it was priceless. This was the result I'd desired earlier, but I really should have known better. As much as I wanted to be an intimidating tough guy, it just wasn't what I was. But that wasn't the only route to take. There was always the second option and it was always the more fun one.

Everyone was intimidated by insanity. And this man was no exception. So, I gave him my _best_ smile.

"What's wrong bud? Heheh. You look like you've seen a ghost." I laughed, slowly closing the distance between us. He remained frozen, no doubt his mind trying to comprehend how a man that should have been dead, wasn't. His expression only served to fuel my laughter. By the time he gathered himself enough to try and react, it was too late.

Like last time, his fist clenched shut, his other hand moving position to create a spark. Hah. He thought that just because he was on the other end of the house that crap could work again. Though, as he went to do this, to me, his movements appeared slower. A little sluggish even. I didn't fully understand how this worked, but my guess was that was because of my speed buff activating. With a genuine smile, I took off towards him, reaching him just as his hand was reopening with his precious tnt block. It was a little sad really. Such an awesome ability, with so much potential, yet he relied on it too much. Too much to add diversity. Too much that he was predictable. He'd never had to face a real fight before.

My left hand latched onto his own, his fingertips sparking harmlessly against his chest as I twisted my upper body, my right knuckles driving into his ribs. He let out a surprised cry, but it was soon silenced by my opposite elbow smashing into his jaw. I heard something pop and I grinned wildly knowing I'd probably dislocated his jaw. He tumbled and I wasted no time in jumping on my earlier missed opportunity. Before he was even able to fall to the floor, I was next to him, snatching up his leg and spinning him around until he dropped onto his stomach. With a fast stomp kick to his back to keep him stunned, I quickly bent his leg down and pinned it under my own. My knee resting on his back, my right hand reached down to grab his, twisting it painfully around by the thumb and pinning that one as well. Without both of his hands, he couldn't pull that little explosive stunt anymore. Not that he was in any condition to anyway.

The noble man could hardly breathe, let alone put up any real resistance at this point. His breaths came out short and raspy, the strain of my body weight on his chest causing each exhale to come out in small wheezes. His face was badly bruised near his chin and the blood lines from where the glass had dug into his skin were now stained a darker shade of crimson. It almost made it look like he'd suffered a lot more than he had and I couldn't help the tiny pinch of guilt that spiked up in the back of my mind. Yes, I'd gone too far. But there was no going back now. I had to finish this. I had to make sure this creep would never come bother Alice again.

"Wh…Wh-What…W-What a-are y-you…?!" I heard my now incapacitated foe wheeze from beneath me. I couldn't believe it. Whether it was from the pain or because he'd finally recognized the helpless position he was in, I couldn't help but be a little caught off guard. He feared me. Literally, feared me! Me! Nobody ever looked at me, spoke to me in that kind of way. With that kind of absolute dread lacing each word as it struggled to get past his lips. I felt sick to my stomach, but I couldn't let that show. I wasn't playing the part of Zyeke Daniels.

I was playing the part of a psychopath.

I readopted back my overly widened smile and grabbed a handful of his curly blond hair. One harsh tug brought his frightened and agonizing gaze level with mine. "What am I?" I asked. "Haven't you figured that out yet? Bud?" I pulled up more on his hair until my mouth was inches away from his ear. "I'm a monster…from the depths of the Void that you _never_ should have summoned." Slowly, deliberately, I moved my other hand down the side of his face until it rested underneath his chin. "Did you know? Mobs like you are so fragile. So easy to kill. Just a simple twist." I jerked his head to the side quickly, triggering a multitude of pops from his neck. It had the desired effect. I felt him shiver beneath me. "And your life could end. It would only take a second too! Isn't that just…fascinating?"

I felt him whimper before I actually heard it in his voice. "P-Please…I-I'll do anything…"

"Oh? Resorting to begging now, have we? Alright." Again, I harshly twisted his neck to the side. But this time, it had a purpose. "Then how about apologizing to the poor woman you've antagonized? Hmm?"

Tears started dropping down from the noble man's face as he faced back towards Alice. I didn't dare meet her eyes. If I did, I knew I'd lose it. All pretenses that I'd built up in the last few minutes would be erased and all of this would be for nothing. I knew the kind of person I was. My character would break the moment I saw her face. I hated what I was doing in front of her, but I was too far invested in this to back out. If whatever this was between them was resolved by this method, no matter what she thought of me once this was over, I would see it through.

"I-I'm s-sorry…" He muttered, his voice barely audible.

I kept my gaze firmly on him. "Louder!" I shouted.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING…! P-Please, Notch, I-I'm sorry…" He cried out, actually breaking out into full on sobs now. He'd fully broken down now. Good. This was exactly where I wanted him to be. I let my grip on his pinned limbs go, getting up and moving around to kneel in front of him. Reaching down, I forcefully grabbed his face and pulled his petrified face as close to mine as I could.

"Good. Then know that if I ever see or hear about you so much as breathing in her general direction," I pulled my smile back as wide as it would go and narrowed my eyebrows as tightly as possible. "The suffering I will impose upon you will be so severe that you'll wish you were devoured by the Ender Dragon himself!" After that, I stood, dragging him back to his feet. "Now…Leave!"

I practically threw him once more towards the opening where the door used to be. He didn't make it halfway before teetering forward and falling to his knees. That didn't stop him though. Without another moment's hesitation, he scampered up on all fours to get out of the house. To get away from me. He staggered clumsily to his feet, hitting his shoulder on what used to be the edge of the doorframe, making him almost tumble back down to the floor. But he ran. He ran as fast as his unsteady legs could carry him. Until he was out of sight.

For several tense moments, I remained where I stood. Watching. Making sure he wouldn't come back. I was so focused on it, that it took me a bit to realize that the status bar at the edge of my glasses was flickering. The buff symbols were fading and flashing rhythmically until they ceased to exist from the top of my exp bar. The effect was immediate. I fell to my knees, the dull aching from before now coming back with a vengeance. I tensed up and gritted my teeth trying to fight against it. But I felt so exhausted. So…tired.

I collapsed.

 **Alright, there we go! Chapter 4. So sorry it took so long guys! These past couple weeks have been hectic and I lost a lot of time on my weekends and week days with work getting busier, getting a sudden birthday kinapping vacation, and then getting sick. Still fighting the last of it. But here it is! Hope you all enjoyed. Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter and this personality I'm forming for Zyeke. It might not be familiar to those of you that read the earlier two stories. Don't worry, I'm not changing it too much. Just…adding a few…interesting tweaks.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! As always, replies to the ones that were recently posted will be below! I will try to get back to my one chapter a week schedule as usual. Until next time.**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Heavy 1825: Thank you Heavy. It means a lot to hear that and I will certainly keep it in mind when I'm writing new chapters. Hope you continue to love each one.**

 **Miss Electricity: I'm so glad to hear that. In this version, I am going to try and make this a very character driven story. My goal is to make each character feel real and likable (or in Joshua's case dislikable :P) as possible. I'm happy you appreciated it and I would like to hear what you think of this new development.**

 **Blegar1: Alright then. If you change you're mind at all though, don't hesitate to PM if you find you do want them one day. In the case of your review, it brings me a lot of joy to hear that it seems my writing has improved and that you recognize the new effort I'm putting into the characters and drama. And I don't want to give anything away too much, but Zyeke will definitely be impacting this village a lot more than the previous version. Hope you'll enjoy what comes!**

 **SuperTheDoodle: Thank you so much and I'm so glad you liked that little snip-it of emotion I put in there for Alice. What was your favorite moment from this chapter?**

 **SSW Talon: And more will come my friend. I will try to keep to my original one chapter a week schedule.**

 **Guest: Thank you! I will try!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Were things better? Or much, much worse? Alice looked over at the small hole that had been punched through her floorboards and then up at the gaping wreckage of what used to be her east wall. In the distance, she could see the few adjacent homes that lied just outside of town. There was no doubt in her mind that someone heard the explosion. It wouldn't be long before someone came and started asking questions. What would she even tell them? A normal creeper couldn't have done this much damage. Everyone knew that. It also wouldn't explain the second sizable hole behind her. Or why her furniture was strewn out all over the house in a chaotic mess. She had no suitable lie and the truth was too unbearable to expose.

She felt her chest tighten and she quickly shut her eyes, her fist tightening around the damp cloth in her palm. Beads of water trickled down her fingers, reminding her that there was someone she had to attend to. She couldn't afford to think like that. Not now. Not while he was like this. She had to get him help. Fast. She had to be strong right now. But, she just couldn't stop her mind from running rampant about how bleak their situation had become.

Joshua was gone, that was the only positive, and even then she wondered about whether or not it really was. She already feared what would happen when he came back. He would be back. There was no doubt in her mind. He was a man of nobility that lived in the royal city. He had resources, power, influence, things that she would only dream of having. Notch, he was the king's royal treasurer! When he arrived back in the state he was in, who knows what he would say to his majesty. Or the wrath that would soon follow.

"Ugggh…" The man beneath her groaned lightly, stirring a bit in her lap. His eyes remained closed.

Alice gasped, surprised that he could move at all. She looked down at his unconscious figure. His head rested on her thighs and she quickly wet the cloth rag with her last remaining bottle of water at her side. As gently as she could, she cupped the side of his chin, lifting it up slightly as she brought the soothing garment to his cheek. A few stray drops of blood dripped down from his nose that she was almost certain was broken, beginning a new streak of red on the from his nostrils. She quickly wiped it away.

She had done her best to clean him up and she was so thankful when the bleeding stopped. There'd been so much! His entire body was covered in bruises and cuts from the neck down, the only untouched portion lied with his undergarments. A long gash stretched across his forehead, which coincidentally followed along a portion of his hair that seemed to permanently curl upwards in a small arch. It was strange how she'd only really noticed it now. However, as her eyes wandered over his beaten figure, she couldn't stop the rise of negative emotions that began seeping through her psyche.

Everything had been fine. Normal. If he hadn't have been here, none of this would have happened. She'd still have her house and most of her furniture that she didn't have the funds to replace. Yes, she would have had to have deal with Joshua and she detested that. But what did it matter so long as it kept a roof over their heads and food on the table? She'd all but lost her food stores in the explosion, save for a few measly carrots and that certainly wasn't going to keep Tia fed. Nether, why did he have to show up on her doorstep?!

"Aagh…Hnngh." She heard him groan once more and immediately she berated herself for ever thinking such vile thoughts.

Of course, this wasn't his fault. She couldn't blame him for this. He wasn't the one who brought this on her. No, no if she was honest, she had no one to blame but herself for this. If she had just turned down Joshua at the start. If she'd just had the courage stand up to him the first time instead of submitting to him, she wouldn't be in this predicament now. But then, she also wouldn't have gotten Tia. Oh, what was she going to tell her? She'd have to see if she could stay with Clarice for a little while. Until she could figure something out.

"We…really…have to stop meeting like this…It's…bad for our health…mainly mine." Alice heard a weak chuckle escape the young man's throat and she looked down in stunned silence to see him _smiling_! Her breathe caught in her throat. How? How could he be smiling at a time like this?! An icy chill shot down her back as her mind brought up the last grisly image she'd seen of that smile of his. Joshua bruised and bloodied, blood flowing just as freely as the tears that streaked his face as he was forced to look at her, the man before her responsible for putting him in that condition. That one that did it all, with a smile. An unnatural, wicked smile.

"Hey…are you…ok?" He asked, his smile immediately dropping as his eyebrows furrowed with concern. Dare she even say, worried? She didn't understand. His eyes were focused on hers before flicking from side to side as he looked over what he could see of her from where he lay. The sleeve of her dress was torn on the left side, a lengthy scrape from the explosion showcased across her arm that she'd yet to treat, staining the area around it into a darker hue. It wasn't serious. That was just the part of her that was unlucky enough to catch the edge of the blast radius. But he didn't know that. "You're hurt…" He whispered, slowly raising his arm up with a wince.

She was hurt?! Did he not realize what kind of a state he was in?! "No! No, I'm fine. Please, don't strain yourself!" She found herself exclaiming, surprising both him and herself as she reached over with her good hand to stop his. Both of them paused and she looked into his eyes a second time. There was nothing. No malice or anger. No trace of deceit. Nothing that remotely resembled the same man that had brought about Joshua's reckoning. She slowly returned his hand to rest on his chest. "Don't worry about me. You're the one in bad shape. You need help…" She trailed off, her earlier dilemma resurfacing as she looked from the man in her lap and the hole overlooking the village.

"Heh…Hahaha…Yeah. I definitely need help…" He chuckled briefly, his head moving back to face the floor. "But this…I can handle this…I just need-" His sentence was cut himself off abruptly as his head flicked to the left, just pass her thigh. "Carrots!" He exclaimed.

What…? Carrots? How in Minecraftia were carrots going to solve any-

Before she had any time to react, she felt his weight shift quickly as he rolled over and off her lap, his chest hitting the ground with a hearty slap. "Augh..." He groaned, but nevertheless he crawled his way over to the three orange vegetables strewn across her floor and proceeded to devour each one. She could hardly believe her eyes. Had that explosion done more damage than just to his body? What did he think those carrots were going to do for him?!

"H-Hey!" She finally got out, transitioning to all fours herself and hastily moving over to him as he gathered the other two carrots. "You can't move around like that! You're going to make your injuries worse!"

He didn't respond outright to her pleas, but he did stop and roll back over until he was laying flat on his back. Somehow, in his half delusional state, he seemed to grasp the idea that exerting himself like that was only going to end up killing him. However, he continued his ravenous display or ripping chunk after chunk off each carrot stalk. Notch, if he kept eating like that, he was going to end up choking on them! But before she could snatch them away from him, he'd all but finished.

After he swallowed the last bite, he let out a long, heavy sigh of satisfaction. He relaxed fully against the floor once more, much to her own relief. "Sorry…" He breathed, closing his eyes with a small smile. "I'll…replace them. And fix the house. I promise." For a moment, she thought he might slip back into unconsciousness.

She scooted next over to him, the steady rise and fall of his chest and lack of movement only serving to affirm her suspicions. It was almost funny. The promise he just made. It took the village weeks to get the supplies for this house. Days more, even, to layout and move the large wooden blocks in their proper places and then stabilize them. He was only one man, yet he'd promised to fix this mess. Her mess. She held a hand up to her mouth, fighting back against a new set of tears threatening to come forward. It was cute, his gesture. Offering to do the impossible often was. But this wasn't some fairy tale and she wouldn't dare allow herself to think so. Reality, it turns out, is much crueler than any villain.

"Just rest." She murmured softly, lowering her hand and letting it slowly course through his short, brown hair. "I'll go get the town doctor. Please…be here when I return." She then removed her hand and rose to her feet, heading towards her new 'holey' exit, not willing to waste another second sitting around.

That is, until the next thing she heard made her freeze in disbelief.

"Actually, uh, I don't think that'll be necessary."

Alice whipped back around just in time to see the man slowly raised his legs and bend them back until his knees were close to touching his head. He groaned softly before taking in a large breathe before kicking both legs up and into the air. She gasped as his back sprung off the ground, followed by the rest of his body as it arched in midair, his feet somehow able to get underneath him as he landed. However, once forced to bear his entire weight, he began to stumble. Luckily, it was in her direction.

She rushed forward, managing to catch him in her arms and she felt his body tense as he braced against her. "W-Woah…sorry." She heard him stutter and then chuckle. Actually, chuckle! Notch, had he lost so much blood he'd gone delusional?! What was he thinking? "I guess I overdid it a bit there huh?" He chuckled yet again and even smiled. An embarrassed, sincere smile.

"What…!? How can you be so…" Her voice trailed off and she found herself completely unprepared by the sheer audacity of it all. "So…" She tried to finish her thought, but she just couldn't get over this. Her mind wouldn't allow it. She'd witnessed this man take an explosion from a mere block away, followed by literally flung through a wall, and even then, get up and work himself up to near exhaustion while fighting against Joshua. Now, he was here holding her by her firmly by the shoulders, smiling as if all he'd done was just almost tripped and fell over like some klutz. Well, granted he actually had almost done that, but that didn't make anything else that happened before any less impossible!

"Clumsy? Yeah, I know. I, uh, haven't exactly figured it out myself yet either." He chuckled yet again.

"No! No, how can you be so…alive?! How are you still standing?! I just saw you-" Alice once again found herself cut off and shocked into silence. Had she not been looking explicitly at him at the time, she doubted she would've captured the event with her own eyes. His cuts, three of them on his chest, had just slowly scabbed them all over in the amount of time it would've normally taken a regeneration potion. A potion she knew for a fact he hadn't drank. She'd checked his belongings for one when she brought him upstairs to bed that first day. How? How was his body healing so quickly?!

"What…" She finally managed to whisper, her head bowed and mind not quite yet ready to implement normal speech again. It was still wrestling to process the second most impossible thing she'd seen today. "What are you…?"

For once, her otherwise jovial companion had no sheepishly humorous rebuttal to her question. In fact, she heard nothing at all from him at all. It was only when she felt his hands leave her shoulders, did she tilt her head back up to him. However, he didn't meet her eyes this time. One of his arms was bent up behind his neck, rubbing it softly as he looked out towards the village through her newly opened entrance. His expression appeared nervous and a little worried, though over what she had no idea. Whatever the reason, this was the first question from her that actually seemed to have made him uncomfortable and she was now more curious than anything else.

"I'm…like you. But…not?" He said, sporting another one of those small smiles, though she could easily see this one wasn't completely honest. And after the look she gave him, he sighed. "Alright, sorry. I just need a second to figure out how to explain it." He stood there a moment, brow furrowed in thought. "I'm…human. A villager, I guess. But, the place I came from is pretty far away and…well, we're a bit…unusual."

She didn't understand. Of course, she doubted anyone would understand the meaning behind his cryptic wording except himself. Which, she suspected, was the point. It left her confused. Not so much because of the vague way he answered, but because of the why. Why did he feel he needed to hide this information from her? Again, his earlier chaotic and unnerving demeanor from before resurfaced from the back of her mind and she felt an unsettling quessiness in her stomach. Was the reason because of that? Was everyone from whatever village he came from like that? She needed to know.

Unfortunately, a loud gasp from behind them diverted her attention away from her estranged guest. A worried voice she knew all too well caused her to turn and be greeted by outstretched arms that immediately wrapped her up in a tight embrace.

"Oh thank Notch you're alright Alice!" Clarice exclaimed, breaking away from her affectionate hug not a few moments later. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have don't that so readily, should I? Are you hurt? You're bleeding! Oh, we need to get that taken care of right awa-" It was then that she finally caught sight of him. "Alice?! W-Who is this man? D-Did he do this to you?! And why is he only dressed in his undergarments?!"

Oh dear, this was going to take a while to explain…

* * *

Whew. That was close.

I did feel a little bad for leaving while Alice was in the middle of explaining what happened to…whoever that was that showed up. Oh, and for stealing one of her spare robes. Yeah, I'll have to apologize for that later for sure. But I was nowhere near comfortable enough with my body to be walking around town in just my boxers. No sir, my balls are not made of that much steel. Plus, I needed to sort my story out for when I actually had to tell Alice where I came from.

I didn't like lying. It's just as well too because I certainly wasn't very good at it. Well, that's not exactly true either…but not the point. The truth was always the easier route to go. Even if it was hard to accept. Still doubt telling her I was from another world that knew her only as simple game on a computer would go over so we'll either. Hell, she'd probably think I was crazier than I already was. Or maybe that's the whole thing. Maybe this is all just some delusional dream I'm having and I'm lying on a hospital bed right now with my family worriedly looking over me. God, I hope not. Though, that might be slightly better. At least then they'd know where I was.

Right now they were probably worried sick.

I shook my head and sighed. I can't think like that. It won't help me get any closer to home. Right now what I needed was a plan. And a plan, I had. I just wasn't sure it was going to work out. Based on the abilities I had seemingly gained as a 'player' it should. But there were a few factors that pointed to the possibility that it wouldn't. I knew from my experience when I first got here that, contrary to basic Minecraft principle, I could not break wood with my hands. The pain that rippled through my knuckles when I'd tried was _more than enough_ of a deterrent.

However, a lot of other things were seeming to fall in line with the game mechanics. Knowing what I do from recent experiences, if I take a hit, I will feel whatever pain would normally be inflicted and lose hearts, but be good almost right after. Food still applies a healing effect so long as my hunger bars were full. Buffs still applied too, but I had no idea why I suddenly got them out of nowhere when I fought Joshua. I'd have to figure that out if I could. Overall, it seemed like most of the effects my avatar would receive in game do transfer over to me. Let's hope my theory on building is correct too.

It was kind of surreal, walking down a realistic gravel road, surrounded by the standard villager buildings in a game I'd only ever observed from a monitor screen. Seeing their un-pixelated versions scaled to size right in front of me, I had to admit, I gained a little more appreciative of the coded structures. Don't get me wrong, they were still utterly terrible eyesores from a builder's perspective. But at least now they seemed like slightly less terrible eyesores.

Besides the architecture though, there was something else I noticed that made me pull down on my hood just a little bit more. I was still getting used to the whole mobs were now people type thing, but gosh dang, the girl to guy ratio here was just insane! I mean, shoot so far I think I've only seen two. Out of like, ten! And my God if every one of them wasn't a looker, it wouldn't have been so bad. I took a deep breathe. There was nothing wrong with admiring beauty. I liked seeing pretty and cute women. There was no shame in that. However, sparing more than a glance started to make me uncomfortably aware of how little I was wearing under this robe. I really wish I had my clothes back.

Mercifully, the town wasn't all that large. I honestly didn't need to work that hard to spot the local blacksmith. Just needed to follow the trail of black smoke rising up into the sky. Now that I was closer, I could make out the loud _clang clang_ of hammer against steel. Each powerful smack resounded clearly across the narrow streets and made me feel a little bad for the neighboring homes. Judging by the volume, he was likely just around the corner outside. As much as I didn't want to interrupt the guy while he was working on a project, time wasn't exactly on my side. Not when it was after midday. I hastened my pace and hoped he wouldn't be too upset with-

I froze. That…that wasn't a man.

 _Clang!_ Sparks erupted from the tip of the hammer as it collided with a superheated metal bar, bathing the figure above it in an artificial orange glow. _Clang!_ Auburn haired flashed like fire among the flying embers, lighting up a fierce and determined expression as her arm moved down for another swing. _Clang!_ Trim, but firm muscles bulged from heavy exertion of force and I just found myself stunned as I watched them swing relentlessly at their target. A women who looked no bigger than me, pounding away at her craft with the same intense drive and focus as an artist. It was incredible. Also, I may have a thing for well toned women. That might have been another slight influence for staring.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to speak though, she ended up breaking the ice for me. "Who the Nether are you?" She asked pointedly, stopping mid-swing and glaring at me through her, oh my gosh, was that a monicle?! No way!

I had to fight so hard to keep from chuckling. "Uh," Dude, stop freaking staring at it. "Sorry, I was just, uh, a little fascinated is all. Ah! With your work I mean. You know, with the hammer and swinging and," When did I became so incapable with speech? Her unamused expression also didn't help with the notion that I sounded just as stupid as I thought. "You know what? Sorry, let me start over and just answer your question." I put on a smile and tried not to act as embarrassed as I felt. "My name is Zyeke Daniels."

No reply. No, wait. Yep, she crossed her arms. Not exactly great progress.

I chuckled, a bit nervously. "Uh, like I said, I apologize for interrupting but I wanted to talk with you about getting an iron pickax." That seemed to draw at least some kind of positive response. By positive, I mean she let out a rather annoyed sounding sigh, gesturing over to the door that led inside with her head.

"Wait inside. I need to finish this first." She said, grumbling under her breathe a bit as she raised her hammer. "And don't touch anything!"

Not wanting to upset my new unnamed acquaintance, I quickly made my way past her, opening the door as she started hammering away again. Stepping inside, I almost felt like I'd walked into a video game. Or, huh. Well, a different kind of video game. The inside reminded me so much of a mideival townsman's armory shop from one of those old RPGs. Up front was a counter, with chests instead of boxes or barrels lining the inside. The walls around it were sparsely populated with iron tools, weapons, and armor. I was honestly a bit surprised at the lack of inventory, but I supposed it did make sense. This wasn't a huge town after all. That or she didn't want to place too many wares out on display in case of thieves.

Despite this, I couldn't help be feel drawn to the counter to study the single complete set of iron armor that sat on the default armor stand found in the game. Interestingly enough, the dull wooden stand helped the highlight each individual piece and for good reason. The armor itself was nothing like the pixelated clunky set you could make in game. Instead, it was surprisingly sleek and polished, compared to the textures around it. This set in particular seemed specially molded to be tightly fit around a woman's build, maybe around average height, which I found a little surprising at first. But then again, if the outlandish ratio I'd counted up on the way here was anything to go by, I suppose women warriors weren't as uncommon as on Earth. Needless to say, the quality of the set looked fantastic!

Curiosity ebbed at the back of my mind and I reached out a hand to the chest plate.

"I thought I told you not to touch anything."

I quickly drew my hand back, whipping over to the door behind the counter that now stood wide open. Along with a very irritated shopkeeper. Geez, I really should've noticed when she stopped banging that hammer. The girl stepped forward, letting the door swing shut on its own, a clearly dissatisfied frown settled across her face, her arms crossed over her apron. I really wasn't doing well on first impressions here. Come on Zyeke, think. Salvage this!

"Ah, sorry." I responded, moving a hand to the back of my neck. "I was just…admiring it. We don't exactly have these kinds of armor sets back home. And even the ones we do have don't look this good." Not exactly a lie. The ones we had in museums we're pretty old. Even in good condition, it just wasn't the same as seeing a freshly made set. It was hard to tell whether or not my inadvertent compliment did me any favors.

The blacksmith across from me sighed, shaking her head, but she did unfold her arms as she addressed me. "You said you wanted to purchase an iron pickax?" She asked in a very pointed, business like manner.

Right. Purchase. Like with money. Money that I didn't currently have. My wallet was left with my pants and who knows where the heck those had gone. I sincerely doubted bills were going to be treated as anything but useless strips of paper here anyway. No sign of a plastic card reader either. Surprise, surprise. I debated asking about the price for a moment to affirm the units of currency used here as emeralds. However, this women didn't seem like the type who liked any roundabout discussions. I might as well just be straight forward and hope for the best.

"I would, yes. But I lost all my funds when I ended up here." I responded, doing my best to keep things vague. As expected, she wasn't too happy with that and she butt right on in overtop of me before I could say anything more.

"Then what the Nether are you doing here?!" She exclaimed in blatant irritation. "Do you understand how much of a pain it is to stop in the middle forging a blade, only to have you waste my time and make the process even more of a pain in the ass? Notch, people like you really piss me off!"

I winced, but since I was already on her bad side, what the heck did I have left to lose. "I'm sorry, really. I didn't meant to cause you any inconvenience, but I really just need to borrow one briefly. Really, just long enough to pick at some stone. Please miss." I asked earnestly. "I'll bring it right back. You can even come with me to take it right back."

The look she gave me did not bode well for my chances and she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as she turned away. "This isn't some blocking charity." She said as she made her way back to the door. "Come back when you have the money to pay for it. Otherwise, get out."

Damn, I couldn't leave here without a pick. Not when I'd made a promise to Alice to restore her house. Plus, I needed to get materials together to set up some pre-emptive measures in case that Noble jerk decided he was coming back. Somehow I just didn't think he was going to leave well enough alone. That put people at risk. At risk because of me.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my wait and I moved over to her from across the counter. "Wait! What if we made a deal?" I asked, praying inside that she wasn't just going to blow me off.

"Ugh!" She turned back around, glaring harshly at me. "Look. I got to feed myself and keep this shop running and empty promises or deals aren't going to buy materials or pay the rent. So unless you-"

I didn't really like to cut people off, but I was afraid if I didn't she was going to slam that door on me and that was going to be the end of it. "I know. I know. But I can help you. Really help you. Look, if you let me show you, I guarantee I can make any tool or weapon just as fast as you can and at the same quality."

She stopped for a moment, seeming to consider my words before scoffing in disbelief. "You're telling me you have experience with smithing? I really doubt that. Not with that lanky frame of yours."

Ouch. Ok, that was a little below the belt. I mean, I wasn't really ever that big, but I worked hard to train what I had. Although this oversized robe wasn't doing me any favors, to be fair. Regardless, this was the kind of response I'd been hoping for. Man, I hope this works. "Yeah? I bet you I could finish three tools before you can finish one. If I can't, then I'll work under you free of charge for an entire year. If I can though, you have to let me have one of the picks."

"Hah. If you could do that, I'd turn over my entire business to you!" She laughed, giving a sweeping gesture to the shop with an arrogant smirk. Ironically, in any other given situation, it would be me who was making the arrogant fool of himself. Mmm. It seemed my ploy may have worked a little too well. I chuckled. Wasn't planning on owning a shop today.

"Alright then. You got a deal."

* * *

She wasn't going to be very happy in the next five minutes.

Someone was going to die tonight. She was really considering it.

It had been a long, arduous, and largely unsuccessful waste of a day and she was in no such mood to deal with intruders. This was her cave. Hers! It was the one thing she was allowed in this mundane existence. A place where she could find peace and solitude and not be bothered by her duties or ignorant miners and their incessant banging. It was the strangest thing though, she'd been following the torches along the wall the entrance and she'd yet to hear even the faintest strike of stone.

If whoever had invaded her home had done so foolishly looking for a fight, she would show them the rumors and legends spread about her by townsfolk and passing travelers were nothing. Not compared to what she was really capable of.

She took a breathe. It had been a long time since she'd gotten this agitated. It had been a long time since anyone dared to come here. In her early days when she was more myth than fact, young children would come here from the nearby village. They would often dare one another to go in and normally one of the few men would be the only ones with the courage. She found it amusing. It was usually to try and impress some girl. How ridiculous. Oh, but how she loved it when she'd send him screaming in fear back to his friends. The embarrassment and shame as he was taunted and ridiculed for being such a coward. She relished those days.

Now that the village knew better, none had come since. Until now.

Another oddity she realized as she continued her trek down was the absence of any of the other mobs. With such activity, the cave should have been crawling with spiders and skeletons. However, there wasn't so much as a trace of their presence. No stray silk strings, no bones, nor carcasses. Not a single sign of disturbance. With the layout of the cave and their den locations, it should have been impossible. Any miner or adventurer wouldn't be able to pass by without confrontation, which was yet another deterrent for the common man. Yet, there was an unnatural silence among the depths. Normally she would at least hear the scuttling of legs or faint cracks of bone. But there was nothing.

She frowned. She didn't need this. Not after her still fruitless endeavor to search for that blasted guy her father had tasked her to find. She'd traveled to every major city from across all the Kingdom, even to the Nether. All her sources she forced to do her bidding had not so much as come up with a scrap of useful information. Useless. All of them were just useless! She didn't even have anything to go on other than the fact that he was supposedly chosen by Him. It had been three days already. Shouldn't he have done something noticeable by now?

Her grip tightened on her pickax. It seemed her intruder's luck had finally run out. She heard it. A soft, muffled, tink. Tink. Just ahead the cave system branched off into two paths and only one was lined with torches. She grinned. A devilish, sadistic grin. Whoever he was, he was going to feel every bit of her frustrations over the last few days. Maybe if he begged, she wouldn't be so cruel. A lifetime of enslavement wasn't so bad. Very generous of her even. She always wanted a pet after all.

As she turned round the bend, she froze. No. He didn't dare. Instead of the cave opening up into a fairly spherical dead end, she found the section completely walled in with stone. All except for a solitary wooden door positioned at the center. A lone sign hung above it. Please knock. And he had the audacity to draw an asininely crude smiley face below it?! Oh, she would knock. Why, it would be so rude not to.

With a clenched fist, she brought her arm up high and brought it down with a punishing force. However, instead of flying off it's hinges like it SHOULD have done, the door seemed to splinter in a thousand different places at once. Her white eyes widened in surprise as the door vanished. That was it. No mess, no splinters, no broken pieces, no shattered remains. It was just gone. Like it never existed to begin with.

That had never happened before. But that was nothing in light of the change of scenery in front of her.

Impossible. She had no other way of describing it. Inside, the entire face had been remodeled. The formerly stagnant stone that had once lined the wall had not been entirely replaced with oak planks, logs even placed at the corners to accent the space. A simple kitchen like area had been set up against the wall directly across from her with four furnaces, all burning ferociously. A cauldron sat in the center and two single chests lined the outsides. There were even more chests on the wall beside her, doubles. With signs labeling them! And was that an enchanting table near the bed there? She'd only been gone since this morning! When did this intruder come? How did he do all this so quickly? Who was this man?!

Despite the newly constructed area, there was no sign of it's builder. That tinkering sound had gotten more distinct though and as she turned her head towards it, she's spotted a trap door in the corner to her right. Curiosity now beginning to override her anger, she moved forward and opened it. Below was a very long ladder that seemed to extend down to near bedrock levels. Too many steps.

In the blink of an eye, she transported herself down to the bottom and yet again she found herself shocked. She stood at the beginning of a long three block high corridor that went on for at least a hundred blocks. And at three block intervals it seemed a new corridor began. It wasn't possible. Not for one person. It a professional team of miners months to do this kind of work. It was then that she realized she was dealing with no mere man. She couldn't be.

Slowly, her lips curled up into a pleased smile. After three days of endless searching and nothing to show for her efforts, he'd just waltzed right into her home. Of his own accord, no less. She would've laughed if she wasn't so concerned with giving away her position. She'd been assigned to watch him after all. There was no need to reveal herself so soon. She would do as she was told. Gather information.

There would be time enough for his punishment later.

 **Hey everyone. This may seem like a broken record at this point, but I do apologize for the HUGE delay in chapter postings. Things haven't been well recently and I've only just now decided to change things. Also, my old computer took a dump and for some reason I cant connect to the internet with it, which made things VERY difficult to write and upload, so there was that as well. Sorry guys. But, on the bright side, I've recently moved to Georgia to get myself out of a bad situation I was in back in Florida. And got a new computer! Woo! So, I will be posting regularly again. I've actually already got chapter 6 three quarters of the way done, so it should be up by next week. Now, I will edit this later to reply to the recent reviews, but right now I just wanted to get this up. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope to hear what you think about this new chapter.**

 **Also, for those asking about the old story, I just got it off my old computer and saved onto this one. I'll see if I can re-upload the old story and if they take it down, so be it. If that happens, anyone that wants the old chapter files can PM me and we'll figure a way to transfer them to you.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **Bluecrimsonflames: Thank you for the review and I understand. Like I said, I will be reposting the story. Hopefully it does not get taken down. I promise this new will still have a lot of the old ties from the original. Just hang in there for me :)**

 **Miss Electricity: Haha, yeah. This type of writing style seems to be what I've molded myself into doing after these few years of working on my craft. I am glad you enjoy it and the content as well. Just as a general note, I enjoy writing in the present tense, but also love slipping in subtle hints of character's backstories and briefly referencing past events, so keep an eye open for those, as well as a possible bit of foreshadowing for later chapters.**

 **SuperTheDoodle: Lols, thanks man. I'm glad that you enjoyed the setup, especially since it was probably one of the most tedious things to write in this chapter, funnily enough. It's always nice to know it was appreciated.**

 **Ansongunner: Oh yeah, almost forgot about all those psychotic rage moments xD. Although, if I remember correctly, those were induced by Rot's toxin. This time there's no toxin involved. For now. Keep that in mind for later chapters ;). Thanks for the review.**

 **CaptainBurke: Hey man, still glad to see you're keeping up with me and still enjoying my writing, even from the beginning till now. It's uplifting to have someone still around from the very original and I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. Hope to keep hearing from you :)**

 **The D0ctor: Thank you and no worries. I know there's very little background right now, but as the story progresses, you will learn more and more about the MC and will have not needed to have read the old version at all to enjoy this. However it will be posted back up soon. Thanks for the review and hope to hear from you again.**

 **Guest: Haha. The question now is...is it really just an act? Thanks for the review and thumbs up for the Borderlands games!**

 **VoidlessVitro: Thanks man. I'm planning on focusing a lot more into the personalities of each character I introduce, whether big or small. THis story is going to be character driven more than anything else, so I hope that comes through in my writing. Hope to hear from you again :)**

 **Dex Zabeth: Sorry to hear I still haven't captivated you with the new one, but I'll still keep trying :). The old one will be up soon, don't worry. Hopefully for good.**

 **warrior09: Yep, I do. It will be posted soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Alice groaned. It was funny, under normal circumstances, she always tended to wake up with a more chipper attitude. However, as much as she loved Clarice with all her heart, the woman hadn't ever replaced the bed from the house's previous occupants. And it showed.

The hay inside the mattress had long since gone stiff with age and the distribution of it from many years of use had left uneven hills and lumps dotted throughout the surface. Even now, she felt her side ache from hours of her unconscious discomfort. But that wasn't really what had put such a damper on her early morning mood. After all, she'd dealt with worse than a worn-out bed. No, what had caused her to wake with a fatigued frown was the absence of her little bundle of hope and joy that was normally curled up in her arms.

Tia was gone.

Of course, she was sure she was just downstairs with Clarice. The two of them were probably having a good time cooking breakfast downstairs. Although, with Clarice there was always a good chance of something ending up burnt. Regardless, she shouldn't have been so bothered by this right? Yet as she rose in a sitting position, rubbing her eyes, she still felt that discontented frown pull at her lips.

She needed to get up.

Her robe lay tossed against the wall by the bedside and she remembered she'd stayed up quite late last night. The reason why laid right beside it. As she got up and walked over to put on her robe, she couldn't help but look over the strangely unique garments she spent the day before, mending. The first article was a shirt, that much she could tell, but the stitching and threading was so finely done that you could hardly even see it at all. Nothing she'd ever done, not even her finest work as a seamstress had ever come close to the quality of the simple piece of clothing laid out before her. And that was another thing. She couldn't tell what it was made from. It was almost certainly not wool, the fabric was much too smooth. Yet, it didn't have the same consistency as silk from spider thread, but it was a close second.

The pants were another mystery entirely. The material had a rough texture like leather, but it too was smooth and much more flexible. She couldn't place it. It was almost like it was made from another world. Nether, with everything that had happened, she'd almost believe it at this point. Of course, she knew better. There had to be some explanation. She'd be sure to get it from him the next time she saw him. So help her, she would.

With a light sigh, she made her way across the second story room towards the stairs. As she approached, she began to notice the most wonderful aroma and it made her pause. Clarice had certainly never cooked anything that smelled _that_ good. In fact, she didn't recognize hardly any of the smells emanating from downstairs at all! She could place one of them as having the faintest distinction of eggs, along with butter searing, but there was one aroma that carried some kind of meat sensation. A mouthwateringly delicious sensation.

She quickly started descending the stairs, but stopped once again as she heard an all too familiar voice.

"Alright guys. You all remember the lyrics and parts now?" She heard her previous guest's voice ask from below.

"Yeah!" Tia, and who she could only assume to be Sharon, both answering excitedly.

"Oh, I think so. I hope I don't mess it up." That was definitely Clarice's nervous demeanor.

"Ah, don't worry. You can't mess up good music. Alright, here we go!"

There was a brief moment of silence between the three of them before heard…Notch, what in the world was that?! Suddenly, a loud and high pitched noise reverberated across the room. However, despite the sound being pitched highly as the notes played, it wasn't like a whistle. It sounded hoarse and low yet somehow pleasing to the ear. She caught some instruments in the background she recognized, similar to the music disc Stal Fifi had showed her one time. That had a much calmer, upbeat melody though. This music almost made you want to dance along as it played. She quickly moved down the last few steps, turning the corner.

"Alright Ms. Clarice, start us off!" Her would be guest exclaimed and she had to cover her mouth. He was standing in front of the kitchen counter, dressed in a light brown villager robe he…borrowed, swaying happily in rhythm to the beat of the strangely pleasant music. Beside him, oh Notch, that's where that delicious smell was coming from. Arrayed out on three plates was a bounty of eggs, fried, boiled, and scrambled. Buttered and browned toast slices were laid out in a spiral on a separate plate, but what surprised her was the very last saucer in the procession. It was full of meat strips! Thinly sliced, golden brown, meat strips. That had to have been the pork she smelled earlier, but why in the Minecraft would you eat meat with breakfast?

Her train of thought was soon interrupted as her attention was drawn to the table in the living room by a soft, melodious voice. "H-How do you like, your eggs in the morning?" She could hardly believe it. Clarice was singing?! True, it was hard to tell with wherever the voice that was actually singing to the music that was playing was. But Clarice was singing!

"I like mine with kiss." He responded in time with the music, cracking another egg into a cast iron skillet resting on the furnace top. "Boiled or fried, I'm satisfied. As long as I get my kiss." He stopped swaying and pushed off from the counter, sliding effortlessly to the opposite end to grab some toast. All the while keeping in time with the beat. "Girls?"

Tia and Sharon both giggled as they skipped over to him. "How do you like your toast in the morning~?" They both sang in unison in their cutely high pitched voices.

The chef chuckled, taking two pieces of toast in one hand before dipping down and picking up Tia in the other. "I like mine with a hug." He sang as he lightly nuzzled into her, making his way back over to the furnace to another awaiting pan.

"Dark or light?" Sharon respond in tune, Tia too busy squealing to sing her part.

"The world's alright." He set Tia down and quickly kneeled down to Sharon's level, moving an arm around her and wrapping her in a quick sideling embrace. "So long as I get my hug." There was a slight pause as he quickly straightened back up to drop the two slices of toast down onto the skillet with a hearty sizzle. "I've got to have, my love. In the am." He chuckled as he danced in place. "And why's that girls?"

"Or the rest of your day is positively mayhem!" They happily exclaimed.

"Quite right! Ha. I'm a regular monster." He turned over to Clarice with a smile as he flipped over one of the bread slices. "How do you like your eggs in the morning?"

Clarice blushed a little, but did manage to reply. "I-I like mine with a k-kiss."

"Up or down?" He asked, flipping the second piece before moving to grab two of the plates of eggs and heading to the table.

"I'll never frown." She responded, gaining a little more confidence now.

"Eggs can be almost bliss." He set the plates down in the center of the table. Then, much to her shock, he reached out to grab Clarice's hand, pulling her from the chair and into his arms. In a dance poise! Dear gosh, she'd never seen Clarice's face so red before! "Just as long as I get, my, kiss."

Whether her amused guest could tell or not, he started slowly leading her into a slow, but basic movement in a box-like pattern. She never knew if Clarice was a dancer before, but by the way she was lagging behind on the beat a bit and purposely looking at the floor during the musical reprise confirmed her earliest theories about it. Though, right now she couldn't tell if she was looking down to make sure she didn't step on his toes or to hide her face. She chuckled. She couldn't help it. It'd been a while since she'd seen Clarice so flustered. In a good way of course.

"How do you like your eggs in the morning." He crooned.

"I-I like mine w-with a kiss…" She sang softly back as they danced.

They both sang back and forth as they danced, one right behind the other to create a staggered vocal duet through the verses and as he led her into a twirl, she caught his eyes meeting her from across the room. It was only for a moment, but during that period, his smile seemed to grow just a bit as he led Clarice back to her chair at the table, pulling it out for her as he did so. While he still held her hand as she went to sat down, he kept it a second longer. He then raised it to his lips and give it a light kiss, finishing up his verse before spinning around and now heading over to her.

"I've got to have, my love, in the am." He smiled, offering a hand out to her.

She looked from his hand, then to his face and found herself a little embarrassed as well. It had been a long time since she danced with anyone. Well, maybe with Tia every so often. Not with another man. Yet, there was just something about the way he smiled at her. Warm. Inviting. She saw no ulterior motive in his eyes, nor in his actions. Just an invitation for a fun, harmless little dance.

She took his hand, remembering the same lyrics he sung the first go around. "Or the rest of my day is positively mayhem."

That seemed to make his smile grow all the brighter as he laughed and pulled her in. "I'm a regular monster. How do you like your eggs in the morning?" He asked as he took lead and moved them around the spacious living room.

"I like mine with a kiss." She smiled lightly as she sang. It was funny, almost. As she danced this silly little dance, she felt at ease. Like all her cares, all her worries about everything that had transpired just yesterday and the consequences she feared would follow. They all just seemed to melt away. She felt safe, somehow, in this strangers arms.

"Up or down?" He asked, snapping her out of haze and she just now realized she'd been staring into his eyes this entire time and quickly diverted her gaze away enough to focus on Tia giggling to the side with a hand over her mouth.

"I'll never frown." She smiled at her daughter, projecting the lyrics onto her lips. For once, she wasn't doing so for her benefit. It wasn't meant to be an encouragement for her or to protect her from knowing how she truly felt. No, this time Alice was smiling for herself. She was smiling simply because she felt happy. The happiest she had been all week. And she just wanted to show it.

"Eggs can be almost bliss." He raised his hand slowly above her, indicating that he wanted to do a twirl, which she happily followed into with a giggle that surprised even herself. However, he didn't move to pull her back into him and she now realized all this time, he'd been leading them back to the table, using his free hand to pull out her chair for her. "Just as long as I get, my, kiss." He held out the last note as he pulled her over and gently motioned for her to have a seat.

She did so, turning back to him somewhat expectantly. But instead of repeating the same action he'd done with Clarice, she felt his hand drifting apart from hers and provided no indication that he was going to do such a thing. She didn't understand why, but she felt a little disappointed at the fact. So, just as his fingers were about to slip away, she grabbed hold of them to keep him from leaving. Doing so got her a confused look and before she could talk herself out of it, she pulled him to her and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Just as the music came to a close.

There was a bit of a silence between them all and Alice soon came to realize fully what she had just done. Thankfully, Sharon came to her rescue.

"Yay! That was so pretty!" Sharon exclaimed, clapping her hand enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" Tia agreed with just as much fervor as she bounded over to hug her. "I liked the ending!"

That brought a blush to her face and her mind reeled to try to find something disengaging to say. "Yes. It was a very…enjoyable song." She said, smiling down at her daughter and doing her absolute best not show the embarrassment she felt. When she looked back up though, it seemed her action had affected him as well, as he stood with a hand over his mouth, clearing his throat. Was it just her imagination? Or were his cheeks just a bit red there?

"Right. Well, I'm glad you all enjoyed it. Let me go get the rest of the plates and you guys can eat." He said with a small smile before quickly turning to do the task. "Girls, why don't you two take a seat?"

At the promise of food, both Tia and Sharon quickly took their seats at the table, both anxiously staring down the two plates of eggs already there like hungry kits. Alice had to work not to giggle at their childlike expressions and as their chef came back to set the rest of the plates down, Clarice spoke up.

"You, um, aren't eating with us?" She asked delicately, half-glancing up to him.

"Ah, no. Sorry. I made this all for you to enjoy and say thanks for the help you've given me and Alice. So you four eat to your heart's content. Besides, someone's gotta clean up right?" Clarice seemed like she was about to try and put up some form of protest, but another smile from him was all it took for her to look away with a light blush.

"O-Ok. Thank you very much then." She muttered.

"Sure thing." He nodded to them all, still keeping that same warm smile, before walking back into the kitchen.

"Psst. Mom." Tia whispered. She looked over to her, curious as to why she had to be so quiet with whatever she had to say. It wasn't like her. "Isn't Zyeke great?" Again, she almost laughed at Tia's child-like demeanor. Her daughter could be too cute sometimes.

Even so, she looked towards the back of his figure in the kitchen, his body slightly hunched over the sink as he worked on cleaning the dishes. She smiled.

"Yes. I suppose he is."

* * *

It was a beautiful day outside. The palace gardens really did look their best in the mornings. The light breeze that swept through the air and glided across her cheeks brought with it a refreshing coolness to a warm summeresque temperature. It was a shame. Most of the palace staff passed through without so much as a sparing glance to the bountiful floral arrangements displayed with loving care and adoration. She could tell by his work alone that the caretaker here truly enjoyed what he did and when she'd had the opportunity to see him work in person, it only strengthened that belief. He was such a kind, old soul. Kind, but really much too formal. Though she supposed everyone she talked with was.

She was the princess after all.

"You, step forward!"

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she was taken away from her idle daydream. A middle aged man stepped forward from the waiting procession in front of them. From his attire, she could assume he was a poor laborer. His ragged and dirt stained clothing indicated that he was likely a farmer from one of the town's on the outskirts of their kingdom instead of those that lay beyond the capital. Even the farmers here were outfitted well.

"State your name and business with the king!" The same guard from before declared and she caught the poor man quiver a bit as he looked over towards her father before hastily kneeling down in his presence.

"Your majesty, my name is Duncan Rivers. This humble servant hails from Hedgewood."He stated, though his voice was low and she dare say, a little weak even. "I have come to request aid your lordship."

So she was right. He did come from one of their outermost settlements. If she recalled, Hedgewood was their last town to the East before reaching the desert land. He truly had come a long way to make a request from her father. It must be important. "Speak your request!" Her father boomed, his voice echoing throughout the throne room.

Duncan winced, whether from the sheer volume or the authority held in her father's tone, she did not know. He lowered himself down further to the floor. "Sire, our town has been attacked by bandits from the desert neighboring our town. They've come in the past 24 moon cycles and we are unable to fight them off. Please, I beg for your assistance." He did indeed beg, practically laying his entire front on the marble floor in complete submission and humility. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor farmer before her.

Her father did not seem affected in the slightest. "How many have come?" He asked, his regal tone unchanged.

"We…are unsure my Lord. They've only come in the night and attack one location quickly, vanishing before we have a chance to fight back. We have no way of knowing what their next target is sire. We do not have the man power to watch the entire town. Not with the injuries our citizens have sustained." Duncan explained, his voice practically a whimper at this point. He hadn't even lifted his head to address the king and she could only guess it was more out of fear than respect. She knew and he knew that the answer her father gave would either bring forth relieve or grievous hardship.

The king remained silent, his eyes narrowing in thought as he brought a hand to his chin. The frown present on his face revealed his displeasure for the situation. It could have been directed towards this man and his town being unable to deal with the situation themselves, just as easily as it could have been from his lands being attacked. Reading her father at times like this was difficult even for her. Drawing away forces to deal with these kinds of disturbances was always a delicate matter. Especially when the threat was unclear. If they sent too many away to a town on their outskirts, it could leave others open to raids like this. If they sent too few, it put the lives of the knights at meaningless risk. She understood her father's hesitation with the issue.

However, only one more look back down at the man before her, was all it took for her to make her decision. This was serious and their town needed this assistance. She would make it known in the only way she could.

Slowly, she reached from her chair at his side, moving her hand over to his and giving it a light squeeze. When he turned towards her, she gave him a small smile and as hopeful a look as she could give. She wasn't the one with the crown. Her presence hear was more for presentation than it was for council. Most everyone in their diplomatic staff knew that. Yet, she was very blessed to have the kind of relationship with her father that she did. That, from this gesture alone, she could voice her feelings and opinions on matters such as this without having to utter a single word.

She knew her father would not react too openly with her gesture. But, did give a very light squeeze back, closing his eyes and taking a quick breathe as he rose from his throne, prompting everyone to give him their attention. Well, everyone except Duncan.

The king approached. "Rise." He commanded and the effect was instant as Duncan scrambled to get back into his feet. It would have almost been amusing had the situation not been so serious. Duncan looked back at the king with worried eyes, tense with anticipation as he awaited the king's response. The entire hall was dead silent.

"One of my servants will meet you outside. There you will discuss with him in explicit detail, the circumstances of your town. We will then send a party of guards back with you to deal with this threat." He stated. "Be on your way."

Despite his words being clear, Duncan only seemed to stare back at her father in shock and surprise. This lasted for just a moment though, as his look gave way to gratitude and he bowed repeatedly, his voice cracking a bit. "T-Thank you sire! Thank you! I-I…I will do that. Thank you…" Duncan continued to bow as he backed away and made his way back to the exit. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought she's glanced a few tears forming in his eyes as he turned to go.

Her father turned, moving to take his place back on the throne. She smiled softly to him, hoping he would receive her unspoken gratitude for his decision. Like before, he did not allow any indication to show to the guards or his subjects who were still awaiting an audience with him. But for the briefest of moments, his lips curled ever so slightly upwards in a ghost of a smile for only her to see. The small gesture made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Her father cared. Though he didn't get the chance to show it often, these little moments between them always reaffirmed that the love and consideration she had for him was mutually shared.

And she thanked Notch for that every single day.

The guard stationed at their front straightened up and thumped his spear. "Alright. You there, step-"

"Argus!"

The entire crowd turned in unison towards the sudden outburst and to who dared call the king by his first name. However, Cupa recognized the voice almost immediately and she had to quickly stop her face from dropping into a dissatisfied frown. She'd know that pretentious, demanding, arrogant tone from anywhere. And the last place that she wanted to hear it was here. Even her father let out a soft sigh, probably the closest she'd ever seen him to actually showing frustration or irritation short of declaring it outright. The only reason he did not was because of their relation to the person in question. The royal treasurer and her first cousin.

Joshua.

The young noble strode up the red carpet lining the path to the king's mantle and the crowd parted to let him through. As he grew closer, she started to understand why. He was positively irate, the furious sneer on his face enough to get anyone from the crowd quickly out of his path. That wasn't the only reason though. Once he was close enough, Cupa had to keep herself from wincing as she was able to take in his horrid state.

The most notable injury on him came from a huge welt and bruise on the left side of his chin. It was clear that it hadn't been treated yet. On top of this, multiple shallow cuts had been marked by dry, flaking blood on his face, stemming from both cheeks and showing all the way up to his forehead. As he approached even, one of his hands were clutching his side where she imagined the rib would be and he appeared to have a slight limp. To say she was shocked was an understatement. Not just because of her cousin's state, but because despite him being an insufferable jerk most of the time, he was still related to the royal family. Which means someone didn't care about attacking the crown.

No doubt her father recognized this as well.

"What is the meaning of this Joshua?" Argus asked, his tone barely masking his displeasure.

Knowing that disrespecting her father wouldn't ever go well, Joshua very carefully knelt to the ground, groaning lightly as he paid his respects. Despite his ill-mannered disturbance not a minute beforehand. "Arg-, your highness. Forgive me for intruding, but this is urgent. I've been injured."

"Do I look like one of the doctor's here Joshua?" He stated in subtle, but obvious annoyance. "If you need medicinal help, you should've gone off to find the castle nurses. Not interrupt my procession."

"I know sire. But it's not just that. I was attacked. At one of our towns." He stated, looking up from his kneeled position, still clutching his side. "I fear there may be preparations being made for revolution."

That got both of their attention. It was no small matter when it came to talk of revolution. Many great empires had fallen to as little as a few towns worth of women and men. Cupa was fortunate enough, she knew, to have never have been faced with such a thing. But she also knew from both her father in their history that he had had to quell a few cases of small resistance groups in the past. It was almost necessary to do so. It was better to have to deal with it at its startup than have to face an army later. That is, if Joshua wasn't exaggerating things. From what she knew of her cousin from the local community, he wasn't always the most honest or noble person as his title would suggest. Yet, injuries like those were hard to argue with.

"Which town? How many were there? Explain yourself." Her father ordered, leaning forward from his throne to listen.

Joshua rose to his feet, albeit with some difficulty and looked Argus straight in the eye. "It was Oakwood, my lord. I was on my way back from Spruceshire and figured I'd stop to collect the taxes from that town from those who could pay to make things easier for myself later." His sneer returned, though he knew better than to direct it towards her father. "They must have known I was coming, somehow. When I went to the first tenant on the outskirts, a group of masked men attacked me once I was inside the house. I fought valiantly, but there were too many for me to handle alone. Seven to ten men. Maybe more throughout the town, I couldn't be sure. I barely escaped with my life sire."

Oakwood? That was strange. They'd never received any kind of report from their people or the townsfolk themselves about disagreements between them and the tax laws of the land. Not like they had with a few other settlements sprinkled across the kingdom. Had they really been planning something like this in secret without any indication at all? It was possible, but very unusual. They had recently implemented a larger tax on the town, but it wasn't a particularly large increase. Not to the point where it would spark revolution. Which meant this had to have been in the works for longer than that. If so, this was a big problem.

She spared a glance to her father again. She could see he was thinking on it as well.

"There is one thing that I suppose you could call fortunate to come out of this treachery." Joshua piped up, grabbing their attention once again. "Before they attacked me, I was able to rip one of their masks off. From the way the rest of them reacted, it may have even been their leader or at least of their core members. If you would send me with a small group of knights, I'm confident we could seek him out and capture him. Sire."

That would be rather fortunate. Almost too much so. Why would they have one of their leaders present when attacking one of the royal family's chief treasurers? And if that was truly the case, how did he end up escaping from seven men at the minimum in that state? Surely, they would have pursued him to keep him from doing exactly what he was now. Unless, they'd grown strong enough that this was meant as a message, but even that seemed unlikely. Something just seemed too off about all this. However, she was in no proper place to voice any of her thoughts. She could only hope that her father would be thinking similar thoughts and use the sound judgement he'd always seemed to have.

"Very well." He declared. "Gather up five of our best knights and take them with you. Captrue this man and bring him back here. But he is to be brought back alive." He stressed that last point with a pointed stare directly at Joshua. It was enough to make him fidget beneath them. "Should you not do so, you will find yourself facing a punishment short of the same meant for that of treason. No matter who gives the killing blow. Unless he becomes a direct threat to you or your party. Am I understood?"

Joshua didn't seem entirely satisfied with this, but he did nod in agreement.

"Yes sire. I will bring him back to you alive."

* * *

"How much further?! Are we close yet?! We've been walking forever…" Tia whined from behind.

I could only grin. Ever since we left Clarice's, Tia had been nothing but excited and eager. Maybe a little more so than normal. Of course, it was my fault. After all, I was the one that told Tia that I had a surprise for her and her mother and that alone turned her into an animated, bouncy, high spirited mess that required her mother's expertise to bring her down from. But, her short little bursts of energy from the promise of new experiences or tasks was kind of what made her so adorable. I wonder if she knew that.

"It's only been a few minutes honey, be patient." Alice responded in her usual motherly tone. "But, Zyeke, how much further do we need to go? Isn't this a bit...much?"

Possibly. Blindfolding them may have been a bit much. But, it wouldn't be any fun otherwise, would it?

"Not much further. Don't worry, it'll be worth the wait. Just bear with me a little longer, ok?" I responded back to them with a smile. Oh, right. Well, hopefully it would come across in my tone.

It wasn't much. If I had a little more time, maybe I could've done a more with it. I wasn't the best builder in game, but I considered myself to be above average for sure. Gathering materials was what took the most time. Though, if I was being honest, that was more my fault than anyone else's. I was picky with my block choices. Thankfully, things like mining, building, and farming all lined up exactly with the standard game mechanics. That certainly helped. But there was also one extra thing I came across while working on my little project that made it much easier to finish as quickly as I did.

I didn't need to sleep. I know, crazy right?

I came across this unusually useful benefit while I was down in the cave system I discovered just outside of town. It seemed that my stamina also tied into my hunger bar status. So long as I kept it full, my body would be able to continually work. Isn't that insane? Imagine all the things we could accomplish back on Earth if we had all those extra hours of time we lose to sleep on a daily basis! I couldn't tell you how many things I could've accomplished. However, this unexpected ability didn't come completely free of consequence.

Even now, I could feel it. A light, fuzzy feeling simmering at the back of my mind, consistently reminding me that I hadn't slept at all in over thirty-six hours. For anyone that's pulled an all-nighter before, it's a lot like that. For those who haven't, consider yourselves lucky. I will say, the effects were slightly repressed, making it much easier to deal with. Part of me was curious to see how far I could push putting off sleep until it really became a problem. But that probably wasn't wise. Not now. I should get some rest at some point today. Hmm. Maybe I could just get away with a few hours.

Anyway, I'd set myself up about as well as I could have in my new home sweet cave. Boy was I happy when I found out I could use a crafting table! Although, to be honest I learned that a lot sooner than last night. Unfortunately for the town's resident blacksmith, Victoria as I now knew her, crafting three iron pick axes was just as easy as arranging the proper materials on the table. Oh man, you should have seen her face when I brought her all three before she even had the chance to heat up her metal! Hah! I'd be lying if I said I didn't derive a bit of satisfaction from taking her ego down a peg. She wasn't happy, but I was surprised. Not shortly after, she literally did try and hand the business over to me. It was a little refreshing, you know? Coming across someone that held that much value over their word. I couldn't do it though. It would've just been so cruel to take away something she'd been building up her entire life. So, I did the next best thing.

Speaking of which, there she was now.

I smiled, giving a light wave. "Hey Victoria." I called out to her. "How're you doing _partner?"_

It had the desired effect. Victoria cross her arms and frowned heavily towards me, the leather sack clutched in her left hand drooping down lazily. Huh, she was still dressed in her standard villager robe and black apron. She must have come straight from the shop. Looking up at the sky, I hummed. It was pretty much just after closing. Evening wasn't too far off. Another hour or so.

"I don't see why you had to have me deliver this...whatever the nether is in this bag." He huffed, clearly annoyed at the nominal task I'd asked her to do. "Seriously, what do you have in here? Rocks? It's blocking heavy!"

I chuckled. It's true, I could've done it myself. But where was the fun in that?

Before I could think up some witty response, I heard Tia gasp from behind me. "Oh my gosh, is that Vicky?!" I felt Tia's grip on my hand tighten a little as she quickly made her way to my side, all but dragging her poor mother with her. "Hey Vicky!" She called out with a wave in her general direction.

I had to stop myself from bursting out laughing right then and there. Vicky? _Vicky?!_ Gosh, why hadn't I thought of that sooner?! It was perfect! Oh, I would certainly be using that to mess with her. Strange, she wasn't responding. Even though it was coming from the most adorable little girl I'd ever met, I kind of expected that to get some kind of a rile out of her. RIght now, she was just standing there looking at us all with this dumbfounded look on her face. I was a little confused as to why until I stopped and took one more good look at Tia and Alice. Suddenly, I realized that this might not look so innocent from an outsider's perspective.

"What the Nether are you doing with them?!" She all but shouted across the short distance between us.

I knew where this was heading. I've watched enough anime and even been in enough situations like this myself to know I needed to clear this up now. But, call it the will of the universe, an unkind indian rubburn from fate, or just my really, really bad freaking luck, Tia spoke up first.

"Oh, it's ok Vicky. Zyeke's just taking us somewhere to show us something. He just doesn't want us to know what it is yet. He said it was going to be a biiiig surprise!" She exclaimed, spreading her arms out wide as she put an unnecessarily huge amount of emphasis on the word big. It was so cute. So innocent. I gulped. I really would've appreciated it a lot more if it wasn't for the murderous look that was slowly forming on Victoria's face.

My sack dropped.

No, literally, my leather sack Victoria was holding outright plummeted the short distance to the ground. "Zyeke..." She said, her voice dropping to a low and dare I say, even dangerous tone as she approached. Slowly. Threateningly. Her right hand reached her back and, holy crap was that an iron pickax?! Did she have that thing strapped to her back this whole time?!

I immediately let go of Tia's hand and threw both mine up. "W-Wait, Victoria, it's not what it looks like. I can explai-" It was no use.

"You really are a dispicable, rotten, piece of trash!" She exclaimed before charging towards us. Or rather, at me.

Crap!

"Take 'em off! Take 'em off!" I cried out to Tia and Alice before raising up both hands defensively. Dang, she was quick! She covered the ten or so blocks between us in seconds, raising her pick up high into the air. Damn! I was too close to Tia to risk dodging. I shut my eyes and threw up a guard over my head. Ah, this was really going to hurt...

"Wow!" Tia exclaimed.

When I didn't feel the no doubt agonizing pain that I imagined would come from Victoria's pick digging into my arms, I slowly opened my eyes. Somehow, Tia's little outburst had made her freeze, the business end of her tool not inches away from my bare flesh. Thank the Lord for small miracles. And tiny, easily excitable children.

"Mom! Look at that! Someone new is moving to the village!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.

"U-Um, y-yes honey, it would seem so." Alice managed to respond, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked between Victoria and I. She seemed a lot more shocked than I was about about nearly getting my arms cleaved off. "Um, Victoria, why don't we lower the pick ax? Please...I'm sure Zyeke didn't mean any harm."

"Actually," I took heavy advantage of Victoria's conflicted expression and sidestepped the hell away from her and her swing-happy arms. Closer towards the house. "This is what I wanted to show you two." I gave a wide, theatrical gesture to the southern style ranch house. "Surprise. Welcome to your new house."

Silence. Complete, utter, silence. Not even Tia said a word.

I gulped. I'd really messed up here, hadn't I? Stupid. I really should have known better. These guys probably had a different sense of what looked good and what didn't. All of the buildings here were practical and architecturally simplistic. No display of artistic flare, unnecessary décor, or extra additions. This probably looked terrible to them didn't it? Dang it, I knew I should've just rebuilt it like all the others!

After another few seconds, I dropped my arms and sighed. "Ah...sorry. If you guys don't like it I can tear it down and re-do it." I said, a little dejectedly, looking down and berating myself for being so inconsiderate. I was supposed to be building a home that they would enjoy. Not what looked good to me.

Not a moment later, my ears were assaulted by an uncontrolled and high-pitched squeal. I had just enough time to look up before bracing myself as Tia barreled into me. "Like it? We love it! Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" She shouted, laughing and giggling as she bounced up in down in excitement.

"How did you even get this done?!" Victoria cried out with a look of disbelief. "This should've taken weeks! No, months! And you're saying you built this? It's not even been a day!"

Aw, she looked kinda cute when she was upset. That being said, I really just couldn't not tease her after a reaction like that. I looked over to her with a smug smile. "Come on Vicky," I said, putting Tia's newly provided nickname to good use, "You should more than anyone else that I have a special talent for making things, partner."

Victoria continued staring back at me until my words finally seemed to sink in. "You know what?" She threw up her arms and turned swiftly around, stomping off back to town. "I've had enough for one day. I'm going home. You and your blocking special talents can go fall in a lava pit for all I care!"

I couldn't help but laugh a bit as I watched her go. She had just the right kind of attitude that almost forced me to have to pick on her. Actually, reminded me of a neighbor from back home. She had a bit of an overly developed ego too. Heck even, their personalities matched up to a certain extent. Maybe that's why I always felt so compelled to mess with her. Heh. If they ever met, I bet they'd get along with each other so well.

"I-Is...is it true? Is this...really our new house?" Alice asked, breaking my chain of thought as I turned to her. She was still looking at the house and the expression on her face was pretty similar to Victoria's. Yet, hers seemed to carry a sense of wonder underneath all that bewilderment.

"Yep," I moved my gaze back over to the house. "It's, ah, three bedroom, two bath, and I did my best to make it two stories like your old one, but with a little more space. Figured you and Tia might have guests over at some point." Thinking back on it, I looked back to the leather sack that Victoria had brought with her. "Oh, there's also one more thing."

I went and grabbed the bag, wrapping the opening around my wrist to help me lift it. She was right, It was heavy. She must not have looked inside, otherwise it would probably be a bit lighter. I smiled. Even though she probably hated me right now, I'm glad she at least listened when I asked her not to look inside upon bringing it up here. I'd have to do something nice for her too. Couldn't have really done any of this without her lending me that pick.

Alice turned back to look at me, raising an eyebrow in confusion as I place the bag on the ground between us. "This is also yours. To say thanks for, well, saving my life really." I chuckled and gestured to it with my hand. "Go ahead and take a look."

Curiosity starting to take over, she slowly knelt down and looked inside. At some point during my little strip-mining expedition, I must have crossed into an extreme hills biome because I started finding emeralds along with my other minerals. And with a fortune II pickax, I'd manage to get an entire stack of them. There really wasn't any use for them from a player standpoint except to trade with villagers. So, I figured she could use them more than me. Plus, I really did owe her a lot more than I could pay back in emeralds. I think there was also a few gold bars in there too, but ya know, statement still applies.

She gasped, raising both hands up to her mouth. "Z-Zyeke..." She stammered out. "I-I...I can't accept all this."

I figured she might say something like that, so I knlet down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a reassuring smile. "Sure you can. I can't really use the emeralds at all and I've got plenty more gold stashed away. You don't need to feel bad about taking it. You saved my life Alice." I chuckled. "I mean, compared to that, this is nothing. Besides, you got Tia to take care of. So, please, take it."

Alice didn't say anything, but she kept her hands over her face. Her eyes were squinting at me and I started to see the beginning of tears starting to well up around her eyelids. When she choked back a sob, I knew I was about to get it. Ah...crud. I wasn't really good with girls crying in front of me. Before I could think of something witty to say though, Alice nearly knocked me to the ground. She practically sprung over and wrapped her arms tightly around me, half digging her face into my shoulder.

"T-Thank...T-Thank you so much Zyeke..." She struggled to say as she fought to keep from breaking down into a crying fit. "I-I...I don't know how I could...e-ever repay you for this..."

A little taken aback from her sudden grateful gesture, it took me a moment before I carefully reached my arms around her waist and return her embrace. I let out a quiet breathe and couldn't help but let out a small grin. "Don't worry about it. You've done more than enough already." We both just kind of stayed like that. Alice was really trying to keep her composure, but I could feel how her breathe would hitch in her throat each time she tried to hold back a sob. I took a breathe, mulling it over in my head before moving to pull her tighter against me. "You okay?"

She didn't try and break it off. In fact, her arms reached up further, moving just under my neck to pull us both closer. "Yes..." She replied, her voice a little muffled. She lifted her head up to rest beside mine. "I'm just...so happy. I've been struggling...for so long now. Trying to support Tia..keeping my business afloat...and Joshu-" She cut herself off, shaking her head and letting out a small sniffle. "N-No one's ever done anything like this for me before..."

I had to swallow hard. The hardest part about trying to comfort someone like this was not trying to lose it yourself. I don't know if it's just me, but whenever someone's crying next to me, I have to fight like hell not to start crying myself. Dear gosh, the sheer amount of emotion in her voice. The gratitude and relief from all the feelings she'd no doubt been repressing for who knows how long was enough to pull at my heartstrings. And I thought Tia was bad about doing that. Geez.

"It's really not that big a deal, ya know?" I said, chuckling nervously because I knew if I didn't, I was going to break down right there with her. Instinctually, one of my hands moved towards her back and started rubbing gently. I know that probably also sounds weird, but a lot of my friends usually came to me with their problems. Most of them were girls too, so...when things got emotional, this seemed to help. "Just, ah, you know, keeping my promise and all. It's no good if I, uh, don't keep my word, right?" Ugh, this was a lot easier when the person that caused her to cry wasn't me.

Suddenly, I felt both her hands move to my shoulder and she pulled us both away. For a second, I was worried I messed up until she spoke. "No! Of course this is a big deal. How can you say it isn't? You gave Tia and I a home. A home you built and one I certainly don't deserve with..." She paused to take a breathe, looking away slightly. "Some of the things I've done." She whispered ashamedly. I was a little worried she was about to break down, but she instead focused her attention back on me with a strangely serious expression. "You weren't responsible for any of this. You didn't have to help me. Or Tia. But you did." She lowered her head. "Even if you think it's not a big deal...it is to me."

I felt her hands slowly slide up to both sides of my face, her soft caress sending tiny tingly sensations across my cheeks. I could feel my face starting to flush again. Was this going where I thought it was going? This wasn't quite like any of the experiences I had with my friends. Then again, I don't think there's ever been a situation quite like this ever. You know, being inside a game and all.

When she looked up at me again, I doubt I could describe the expression of soft, pure, appreication on her face. "Thank you, Zyeke...for everything."

There was a bit of an awkward pause between us and can you blame me? What the heck was I supposed to say to that?! All my 'oh, sure no problem' responses that I would normally give weren't going to match the sincerity of the statement she just gave. Wait, is it just me or was her face getting closer? No, it was definitely getting closer! Crap, what do I do? I mean, no, I know what I was supposed to do. But was that really alright? Weren't you only supposed to kiss someone if you liked them? Heck I hadn't ever kissed a girl! I didn't want her to feel obligated to either just because of what I'd done. But would it be rude to refuse a kiss just based on that? Crap, I'm running out of ti-

 _Click._

"Mom! You gotta see the inside of th- Oh." Tia froze before gasping excitedly. "Are you and my mom dating now?!"

I instinctually looked over towards Tia's voice, feeling Alice's hands drop away from my face quickly, leaving me with probably one of the biggest blushes I've ever had. Her comment did absolutely nothing to help and a look back towards Alice only confirmed that she also felt just as embarrassed about the whole situation as I did. To be caught by your own daughter of all people. Oof.

I will say, she recovered much quicker than I did.

"Ah, no Tia, honey. We aren't dating..." For some reason there was a bit of a pause there. As if there were one or two words that were being conveniently left out. She quickly got to her feet and moved to rejoin Tia by the door before turning back to me. "Would you...mind giving us a tour Zyeke?"

Happy for any excuse to move past that extremely embarrassing moment, I hastily got to my feet and nodded. Man, what a little sneak. I didn't even catch her opening the door. She must have done it when both our backs were turned. Maybe when I went to grab the bag? Dang, she was usually so loud and energetic. Who knew she could be so quiet when she needed to. Heh. I'd have to watch out for that from now on.

"Sure. I'd love to."

 **Oookay. I finally seem to be back on track for updates. I'm thinking that today or Sunday will probably be the days where new chapters will be posted. I will get them out to you as quickly as I can, but I will definitely say that your reviews and comments are always a motivation. If it would help boost the story so others might enjoy it, I would be more than happy to start up the old deal we use to have as a writer to his audience. 5-7 reviews on the chapter guarantees an update by the following week. If we could do that, I will do my very best to uphold my end. I remember this is how we gained a lot of support last time, so I'd really like to ask this of you all if it isn't too much trouble.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed and as you can see, I may be a little slower on the draw, but this story will still have most of its main cast of characters. Just a little more fleshed out this time around. I will get us to the Monster Games as quickly as I can.**

 **Thank you for your wonderful support and I can't wait to hear from you!**

 **Until next time.**

 **Review Repsonses:**

 **Blegar1: Yes, you guys will probably notice that I tend to alternate between comedic and serious scenes a lot. This is a formula I worked with for the last story and it seemed to do well, so...no sense in changing it xD. I will say that the mysterious stranger you referred to is not Andr, but that's the only hint you're getting** **. Thanks for the review!**

 **Miss Electricity: Always great to hear from you again ME. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and acknowledged that the rules that may apply to regular people in game don't necessarily apply the same way to Zyeke. Keep that in mind as the story progresses. I will confirm that the mysterious stranger was pursuing Zyeke, if that wasn't confirmed in this chapter. Thank you so much for the review and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter.**

 **Bluecrimsonflames: Glad to see you're still with me Crimson. Thanks for the review.**

 **V-O-I-D: Yay! A new reviewer. Thank you for taking the time to write one and I'm glad you're loving the story so far. I did try to make the fight scene somewhat realistic despite the completely unrealistic circumstances...but most fights last less than a minute depending on the skill levels of the people involved. Of course, that is, on the street. In a tournament, fights generally last longer and are more detailed and they will be once we get to that part. Hope to hear from you again!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

She could hardly believe it. That a man like Zyeke truly existed.

Five days. That's how long it had been since she met him. In just five days, Zyeke had changed her life and her whole town. Newer, better houses sprang up virtually overnight for some of the less fortunate and struggling citizens here. Businesses received new tools and materials where they were lacking, some workplaces even being remodeled to improve their workspaces and efficiency. In hardly an hour. He even designed and built stables and holding areas where travelers and merchants could leave their horses and animals in peace.

She barely recognized the town's entrance. Heck, before he came, they hadn't had anything remotely resembling an entrance. Only a simple, long gravel road that cut straight through the center of town and cut off abruptly after the last business. Besides the outermost houses, there was no recognizable landmark or distinguishable feature marking the start of their little town. Now, almost the entire town was fenced off towards the north and south with two large wooden arches. A sign, an actual sign, rested at their peaks, proudly proclaiming their name. Welcome to Oakwood. It was such a simplistic structure, really. But now that it was here, she couldn't imagine the town without it. It held that nice, inviting, homely charm that she imagined drew most of their residents here in the from the beginning. The local Baron was stunned, but grateful nevertheless for everything he had done. Everyone was. There wasn't a single person here who didn't know him now.

From inside her newly designed kitchen, she stood over the counter, peeling the skin off the fresh carrots that were stored in her newly replenished food chest. As she prepared their evening meal, she couldn't help but remember it wasn't too long ago that she'd had little more than scraps. Another unbelievable gift from him. On top of an entirely new house, complete with furniture and a fireplace, the kitchen was totally stocked! There was so much food! Everything from carrots, to potatoes, to all kinds of meats and seafood. It would last her and Tia months before they finished it all. She wouldn't have to worry about her income either.

She stopped, setting down her fifth half peeled carrot, looking down at the knife and cutting board below her. They weren't hers. It wasn't the same slab of wood she'd purchased three years ago at the market in Spruceshire while they were having a sale. It was fresh, devoid of scratches, divots, and stains from years of use. It was also a lot better and larger than her previous one. The same with the small knife she'd been using to peel. Her kitchen equipment too. She'd never once had an abundance of materials like this.

She didn't deserve this. What had she done? Sure, she had taken in the poor, frail, injured man that laid collapsed on her doorstep and did what she could to nurse him back to health. But, really, who wouldn't have done that? Even then, in a way, he'd saved hers well before all this. When he took Joshua out of her life. All of the pain and suffering he had caused, whenever he would visit, when his name came up among the townspeople, from Tia on those unfortunate nights when she would catch her bawling her eyes out. Many more nights when Clarice would hold her when she tried to keep from breaking down at home. His threats of taking away everything he'd given her and everything she had worked for herself if she didn't comply with his demands. All of it, rendered null and void. No more obligation. No debt to be held over her head. Zyeke had more than repaid her for what she had done.

Everything else though, this house, the gems, gold, and the food that sat right in front of her. She'd spend a lifetime repaying him for all of it, if that's what it took. She owed him that. Even if he didn't think so.

She sighed, reaching back for the knife to continue with her task, when she heard the front door click open. Turning her head to look through, what was it that Zyeke had called it? The kitchen pass through window? He had so many strange names for things. Like the counter in the middle of the kitchen that was also used for storage. He called that an island for some reason. Blinking, she pushed the thoughts away for now, as Tia and Sharon walked inside. Tia gave her a happy wave.

"Mom! We're back!" She called out to her, causing her suppress a light giggle.

"I see. Did you two have fun?" She asked, moving away from her dinner preparations to go greet the both of them, passing through the opening into their newly acquired 'family room'. Yes, that's what he had called it. She kneeled down for her daughter and Tia bounded up into her open arms, squeezing tightly and smiling brightly.

"Yeah! Me and Sharon played storm the castle with some of the others. And after a long and hard batte, we overran all the guards and claimed the kingdom! The entire," Tia stopped as she tried once again to pronounce the name Zyeke had given to the kid's new favortie place in Oakwood. "Play ground was ours!"

"Yeah! And I got across the, um, mon-key bars on my first try!" Sharon exclaimed from beside her, beaming proudly from her achievement. "Tia tried, but she can't do it yet."

Tia pulled back from her embrace, looking at Sharon with puffed out cheeks. "Oh yeah? I can still beat you up to the slide!"

"Yeah? Well, I can do the climbing rocks thing faster." Sharon rebuttled.

Oh dear, if she didn't do something to stop this now, it wasn't going to end for a while. Tia and Sharon had been good friends ever since they could walk, but they both had a competitive streak that was as big as the Void itself. She chuckled. It reminded her a lot of her younger years between her and Victoria. "Come now girls," She said, pulling Tia back into her arms and rubbing her back lightly. "There's no need to start all that. Both of you are very talented." She leaned over and gave Tia a small peck on the cheek before letting her go. "Tia, I don't think anyone can keep up with your never ending supply of energy."

TIa beamed with pride and giggled. "Nope!"

Sharon looked like she was about to pout, so Alice turned over to her with a warm smile. "And you Sharon, I know you're a lot more capable than some of the guys out there on that play ground."

Now it was Sharon's turn. She placed both hands on her hips and smiled broadly. "Yep!"

"Yeah! We showed those boys, didn't we Sharon?" Tia boasted confidently, the two of them now uniting over a common enemy.

"Yeah! We sure did. Come on, let's hurry so we can get back for the next game!" Sharon exclaimed excitedly.

Turns out the two of them had only come back in to grab some water and a quick snack. After they wolfed down a melon slice a piece, they rushed back outside to join the rest of the kids from town. From her kitchen, she watched through the window at all the children laughing, squealing, having the time of their lives on that new structure Zyeke had made. Something from where he came from, he said. She'd never heard of it before, a playground, but wherever he came from, they sure knew how to keep their little ones occupied. She spied several of the parents sitting on a few wooden benches off to the side, talking and relaxing, no doubt happy for some time to socialize with one another in peace. For however long it would last.

She turned back to the furnace. A roaring fire burned vigorously, heating it to a blistering temperature, enough to hear the muffled rumble of boiling water. She slowly shuffled back to her lone pot left sitting in the middle of the furnace. Kneeling down in front, the strong aroma of chicken mixed with potatoes, carrots, and a few other vegetables all melded together to create a delightfully smelling soup. She smiled lightly to herself. This was the one recipe that she cherished, given to her by her mother. She was told she was only supposed to prepare it for special occasions and celebrations. It was also Tia's favorite. Sadly, she wouldn't be having any this time. Not since she'd made arrangements for her to stay with Clarice and Sharon tonight.

Yes, she had already decided. This would be the night where she repaid Zyeke back for everything.

Wrapping both her hands up with a thick cloth she'd kept on the counter, she grabbed hold of the metal handles and quickly hefted the large pot onto the furnace top. Taking the lid off, her nose was assaulted by the savory and spiced aroma from the soup. It wasn't even necessary to taste it, she knew it was done from the smell alone. Yet, she couldn't resist and grabbed one of her wooden spoons, dipping it in to grab a little bite. After blowing on it and taking a small slurp, she quickly raised a hand to her mouth. It was hot, but it was just like her mother used to make. Mmm. She really hoped he would enjoy it.

It took her several minutes to gather up two sets of plates and dishware, as well as find a suitable basket, but she was soon ready. Zyeke had mentioned he lived in a cave just outside of the village and there was only one of which she knew. When he'd told her where he was staying initially, she almost fainted. It had been rumored heavily that Heroine had taken up residence there. But Zyeke had been staying there almost a week now, according to him and he assured her it was perfectly safe. So, there she would go.

Clicking the handle down, Alice grabbed up her basket and headed outside. With a short wave to Tia and Sharon and the afternoon sun to her back, she set off.

* * *

So. Many. Rungs. Why? Why were there so many rungs?!

It didn't matter. No matter how many times I had climbed this obscenely long and tall wooden construct, it irritated me to no end. Having to climb all the way back up from near bedrock levels multiple times a day was just so tiring! Though, I guess I really shouldn't be complaining since I didn't actually have to haul up the fruits of my labor, but still. You would think that by now I would have made a better, much easier way up and down my little manmade mineshaft, but I'd been so dang busy, The only time I'd had to notice or care was when I was climbing it and with all the other things on my to do list, it kinda fell to the bottom.

In the end, I just couldn't stand to look at them. All those plain, clunky, bland houses. I know they were the standard world generated structures, but come on! Someone actually built that? These villagers literally had entire crews that loaded full size blocks and transport them to wherever they were building to actually place them down. Granted, I understood. They didn't have an entire inventory at their fingertips or miniature blocks that would just expand to full size at will like I had. Still, where were the standards? All they had to do was use stair pieces for homes and the roofs at the very least would look ten times better!

I never did manage to catch that nap. Gosh, how many days had it been now? Four? Going on five now I guess. It was so freaking weird. My mind was way in the gutter at this point. Mentally, I was so exhausted that I was sure if I stood still for too long, I could probably sleep standing up. Eyes open and everything. However, like I said before, my body felt completely fine. Nothing was stopping me from continuing my work. It was just a battle of my will to sleep versus my will continue. And right now, well, I just couldn't afford to stop.

Not until I finished this one last thing. Then, shoot, I wasn't going to get out of bed for a week!

Finally, mercifully, I reached the end of the ladder from hell. Undoing the latch, I flung the trapdoor open and climbed out of my self-made hole. With a light groan, I leaned back and raised both arms over my head. A multiple of pops rang out inside the enclosed space I called home and I let out a long, heavy, relieved sigh. Yeah, that was going to be the last trip. Definitely.

I sluggishly made my way over to my wall of chests where I kept practically everything I mined and farmed up to this point. Never exactly sure of what I was going to need, I just kept making chests and labels. What had started out as four simple double-block chests had now become over triple as many. I opened up the first one and began filing away all the cobblestone, dirt, and various types of rock into their assigned places. Thank god an inventory screen would always open up for me each time I opened a chest. Didn't even have to lift a finger either. Just had to think about what I wanted to move and bam. Twelve and a half stacks of cobble neatly arranged inside. Handy right?

I kept all the ores and coal I was going to need before heading over to my designated 'kitchen' area. Heh. I wish I could call it that. Honestly, it was more like my smelting wall than it was an actual kitchen. Two single block chests contained all the premade food I could make on the crafting table and that was pretty much all the cooking I had done since making breakfast for Alice and them. Man, I never thought I'd miss that so much. That settled it. Soon as I was rested, I was going to make a huge breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, the whole shabang.

I chuckled at the thought before opening one of the food chests and grabbing a few melon slices. Munching down on them, the four furnaces had all gone silent, their fires now extinguished. Good. Those would be the last remaining stacks of iron I would need. My goodness, I'd mined so much iron and gold. Diamonds too here and there. Though that didn't compare to the absolutely insane amount of red stone. Almost a double chest completely full of it. Yeah, way more than I needed, I know. But I hated to throw things away,

I knelt down in front of the furnace and tapped it. Not a second later, a stock blue virtual screen sprang up into existence before me. _Take: 64 iron._ The moment my thought had concluded, the iron on screen vanished. Yep, it was literally that easy. Beats using a mouse huh? _Place: 8 coal._ Same as the iron, the predetermined amount popped onto the screen into the bottom slot, ready to be used for fuel. Doing the same for the remaining three furnaces, I gathered all my iron and gold and headed to the crafting table.

It didn't take long at all to convert all the ingots to their block counterparts. It was really cool, actually, how the tabled worked. Once all the materials were gathered onto it in the proper pattern for whatever you wanted to make, they all just slowly merged into it. By themselves. It was extraordinary to watch and it still hadn't gotten old. At least, not to me.

Keeping four of the iron blocks, I deposited the rest of the materials as extra into the 'minerals' chest and headed to the opposite wall. A lone wooden button sat across the way from my bed and I gave it a firm press. There was a short click and immediately afterwards, a 2x2 portion of the wall was pulled off by sticky pistons, conveniently hidden behind a rather large painting, revealing my otherwise hidden underground farm. It was still alive and well. Everything was ready for harvest again. Luckily, I made this pretty easy for myself. I smacked another button and four dispensers pushed out water, harvesting all the wheat, carrots, beats, etc and moved them all towards the hoppers set in the middle of the farm. And soon, they'd be transported to the chest right beside me. Pretty smart eh?

Unfortunately, the pumpkins, melons, and sugarcane still had to be harvested. Plus everything needed to be replanted. Can't automate everything after all. Drawing Joshua's diamond sword that he oh so generously left behind, I got to work clopping down the rest of the farm and replanted. I knew that it would only take about ten minutes for everything to regrow back again, but I sure as heck wasn't going to do this again until much later. I was well good on food right now. Really, the only reason I came was for the pumpkin.

Stepping back inside my home and shutting up the hidden entrance, I walked over to the middle of my humble abode and summoned the iron blocks I'd kept to my hand with my mind. Tossing the first down, I waited for it to quickly enlarge before throwing another on top and then two off to the side. Yeah, you guys probably knew where this was going. In between all the work I'd been doing for the town, I'd also been making iron golems for when Joshua the Jerk would be back. If he came back. I kind of pegged him for being a bit of a coward, so maybe this was all just unnecessary. But, as the old adage goes, better safe than sorry.

In accordance with the most recent update, I threw the harvested pumpkin block on the ground and gave it a slice with my sword. It took a moment, but the block slowly carved itself into a usable pre-cut jack-o-lantern. Well, minus the lantern part. Knowing it would be faster if I just picked up the full size block, I squatted down and lifted the square vegetable and readied myself to place it atop the unfinished golem template. It was really amazing to see too, you know. One second, a bunch of stagnant blocks. The next, poof, a fully functioning iron squidward. At least they were one of the few things that seemed to be normal. No human counterparts as of yet.

I quickly placed the top on and waited for the magic to happen. Right...now.

…

Now. Now. Any second. Boom. Shazam.

The blocks remained as they were. No change, no golem, not a thing happened at all. What the heck? What gives? I'd done this, like, nine times already and it worked perfectly. What was wrong this time? There was no way I messed up the placement. I moved a bit closer, examining it. No, I hadn't somehow gone crazy and accidently used the wrong block. They were clearly iron and that pumpkin on top was clearly carved. I hadn't screwed it up. What could've gone wro-

Suddenly, all the blocks disappeared and I felt something crash into me without any sort of warning. I let out a surprised grunt as I was taken to the floor as something very _heavy_ crashed into me.

My body smacked down hard against the unforgiving oak planked floor. I groaned painfully. Augh, at least it only lasts for a second. Thank you game mechanics. Still, what hit me? No, what was on me? My vison was completely smothered in a pale gray hue. Not only that, but despite feeling firmly pressed against the ground by something that I certainly couldn't lift off me by myself, it felt...soft?

Before I had the chance to think on it further, I felt whatever it was shift on top of me. Gradually, I felt the weight sluggishly begin to rise off my chest. The pale gray haze that had once blocked my vison soon gave way back to the light orange glow of torchlight and wood. My cheeks flushed faster than I think they ever had before. T-That...gray...soft...t-that wasn't a golem!

I gazed beat red at the form of the gray-skinned, crimson eyed female over top of me.

"Systems online." She spoke, her hands placed on my chest as she looked down at me curiously. Then she blinked, her eyes seeming to actually register my existence.

"Scan complete. Hello, master."

 **Hey everyone...**

 **Sorry about being late. I've been a little under the weather as of recent and that kind of hindered my writing process. I seem to be getting over it now and I wanted to get this finished and out as soon as possible. Sorry about the delay, but I hope you all enjoyed it. Please make sure to let me know your thoughts and concerns. Especially about this brief new character introduction.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **SSWTalon: Yep. Maybe. Thanks for the review.**

 **SuperTheDoodle: Hey, it's no problem man. I always like hearing from you, but if you can't review or get caught up with life, I understand. I'm glad you like the way the story is set up and that you appreciate my attempt to world build. Thanks for the review man.**

 **V-0-I-D: Yeah, sorry about spelling and grammar errors. I will go back to fix them at some point. I'm glad you like the structure and I hope it's not too spaced out to where things may not start to make sense at times. I am trying to avoid that. And yep, Joshua. Nothing else needs to be said. Haha. Thanks for the review. Can't wait to hear what you have to say about this one. (Love the puns man)**

 **Blegar1: Hey man. Thanks for the review again. Yep, he did kind of descend towards Umbridge levels huh? Hate to say it, but it's probably only going to get worse. You'll find out in the next chapter just how bad he can get and how Zyeke's going to deal with it. Hope you'll like it. For now, I'd love to hear what you have to say about this chapter. Can't wait.**

 **Miss Electricity: Hey Ms. E, great to hear from you again. Also, thanks for the nickname. I love it xD. I'm glad you liked Cupa's introduction, though she may not be so 'less outspoken' once she's away from the throne room and public. Maybe. As for Tia...maaaybe xD. You'll get to see more of Alice and JtJ in the next chapter though. That's a promise, although...the contents may not be so nice for the first bit. Thanks for the review and I always look forward to hearing from one of my regulars!**

 **AbyssalVoid: Thanks man! Appreciate the review! Let me know if you have anything to say about this one.**

 **Milo S Darek: Indeed I do, glad you noticed and like that. Thanks for the review.**

 **Moonhorse96: Awww, thanks so much! I'm really glad you think that. Please, please, spread the word around if you can think of anyone else that may like the story. I plan to keep up the detail and plot development and hope you will enjoy the coming chapter. I hope to hear from you again. (And I think you may be right there** **). Thanks for the review my friend.**

 **ZackTheDemon: Thanks man. Thanks for the review. Hope to hear form you again.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

This was so troublesome. More than an inconvenience, it was a piercing thorn in his side. A pestilent nuisance that he wished he could be rid of entirely. But it was not time. Not yet.

It took him too long. Three days to find men and woman that could be bought. That could be swayed away from their so-called royal duties in exchange for gold and favors. He'd spent some of his own reserves to privately purchase unmarked armor and weapons that could be easily disposed of after they were finished. He'd covered every possible angle to prepare for killing that crazy peasant that dared make a mockery of him. Now he had to re-work his plan entirely because of one last decree of the king's.

He had sent one of his most trusted knights with them. Damn him. Damn it all.

He had to kill him too, there was no other way. But it wasn't so simple. Joshua was no fool. People who could be bought with money could just as easy betray their original employer for a larger sum. Or if enough pain was applied, they would squeal faster than pigs in a feeding frenzy. He couldn't trust them to keep quiet about killing a fellow member of the royal guard. Not when there would be questions. And there would be questions.

The king did not trust him entirely. That much was evident. As much as he wracked his brain, he could not pin down where he had made his mistake. He was very careful not to leave traces when taking from the treasury. No record existed of his collections with the towns except ones that he authorized himself. Any businesses that may have dared knew better than to bring such an account to the king either. Not after the owners of the bakery in Littleblock had tried and haven't been heard of since. He had eyes and ears all around the castle. Every town knew it. He made sure they knew it.

Joshua cursed harshly as a stray sticking out from the untrimmed brush caught against his pant leg, the sharp edge digging into his left calf as he passed by. Nether, he hated this. These backwoods towns only had a single cleared path leading to them and since he had to keep up the rouse that this was a search and capture mission, he no choice but to take this blasted unconventional way to town. The only thing that irritated him more was he had to look at this pompous golem of a man's backside the whole time.

"Keep it down Joshua. We're getting close." He heard Shephard's annoyingly commanding voice from in front of him. "I'll not have us be spotted because of your inability to not spout off over a little scratch."

He almost snapped at him. Under normal circumstances, he would've. Just the sheer superior-like tone he kept when speaking to him was enough to drive him mad. Did he not know to whom he was speaking? The very cousin of the king? Joshua had to force himself to take a breathe and hold it. He absolutely hated this. Hated that he had to play nice. It would only be for a short while longer now. He just had to bear this until nightfall. Then, he could repay back all his insolent comments by cutting out his tongue.

"If you had mentioned you were coming before hand, I could've had an unmarked armor set made for you. Then we just could've taken the blasted path." Joshua grumbled quietly.

"What was that?" Shephard asked, glancing back over his shoulder briefly. Notch, he wanted nothing more than to smack that look off his face.

"Nothing." He replied. "Let's just keep moving. What are you even planning to look for anyway? I doubt their going to leave their weapon stockpiles out in the open."

"Of course they wouldn't Joshua." He said, his voice taking on a patronizing tone. "But if things are as you say, then there should be some new renovations being made. In the past, some of the other rebellious towns had covered up making siege tools and weapon stockades under building new homes or other self-improvements to the town. Without reporting them." He stopped again and turned to face him with skeptical eyes. "Which is something you failed to mention to the guards or myself."

Joshua winced. Curse it all. The town was exactly the same as he remembered it when he had come here last. "I...didn't feel it was necessary." Joshua lied, anxiously trying to cover himself. "I thought that was supposed to be common knowledge for your royal guard." He added, snorting. "But you should also know, they could just as easily be hiding them in their pre-existing structures."

"Hmh." Shephard grunted before continuing onward.

Joshua followed close behind, worry starting to set in. He did his best to cover himself and give a possible alternative to why the town hadn't changed that still fit his story, but he doubted it would be enough. As much as he loathed the man, Shephard was no fool either. It would take something solid to convince him of his lie. If he could just convince him to scope the town during the night, perhaps he could have one of his hired hands plant a few weapons somewhere.

"By Notch..." Shephard stopped at the forest's edge, crouched behind a sizable bush and remained completely still. That was unusual. What in the Nether could've shocked him so much that he would freeze up like this?

Joshua quickly moved to join his side and once he did, he found himself just as speechless. Impossible. He'd only been gone six days. Everything was exactly as it should've been when he left. Nonetheless, the sight before him stood unchanged against the thought of denial running through his mind.

Oakwood was completely changed. Before the path into town stood a wooden fence that seemed to wrap around the whole village in its entirety. Four entrances marked the north, south, east, and west, along with horse stalls and animal pens too. Even from here, he could also spot new homes where there hadn't been any before. Well designed homes too! Ones that would've normally required an entire team of builders and lots of funds to make. Let alone the days it should've taken to construct the fence! And were those two iron golems he saw wandering through the town?! How was this possible?!

It didn't take long for Shephard to snap out of his stupor. "I can't believe it...they've moved this far along so quickly?"

As much as he wanted an explanation for all of this, he couldn't let this chance slip by. "You see? I told you! What other purpose could all this be for except for revolt? None of these structures were approved by the Builder's Council. Or even made known of."

Joshua watched his words slowly sink in and had to hide a satisfied grin once he heard Shephard's reply. "I see." He frowned, narrowing his eyes. "We must get back to camp, gather the rest of our party. The king needs to be notified immediately."

"Agreed. You go. I'll see if I can't find out where the leader I saw is staying." Joshua said, pleased with his sudden fortune for how things were turning out.

"What? No, are you daft? Everyone in this town knows your face. You'll be recognized instantly." Shephard protested.

Joshua scoffed. "I know that! I will keep to the forest. I have a contact in town who I know is loyal only to me. If I can spot them, I'll see if I can't draw them out here to get some more information." He turned to look back to his compatriot. "They will likely not respond well to someone new and it would be best if you rallied the others anyway. If I find out where their leader is hiding, we can plan for a surprise ambush and capture him."

Shephard's brow creased and he didn't readily agree to his plan. Tch. Distrustful pig. Before he opened his mouth to persuade him more, Shephard let out a heavy sigh. "Fine then. Be back by twilight."

He soon left without another word and Joshua allowed himself the most serendipitous smile. Fate must have been smiling on him. Everything was working out beautifully. Better than even he could've planned. With Shephard now convinced of his false plot, all the remained was finding out from Alice where that piece of shit peasant was. It annoyed him a little that he would have to stay out here and watch for her appearance, but it would be well worth the wait once he had her would be savior by the throat.

Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a door opening on one of the newest outermost homes. He could hardly contain his overwhelming sense of glee when he saw Alice herself exit from inside. She was carrying a basket and though it was too far to tell what the contents were, he spied a large pot resting in the center. She gave a wave to her daughter, who was playing on some kind of foreign contraption that he had no idea what purpose it served, before heading out on the path. In his direction, no less! He chuckled to himself and reached down to draw his knife from his boot.

Oh yes, fate was smiling down on him indeed. A few small threats towards her and Tia and she would do whatever he wished. Yes, she would be the perfect distraction.

And when she had him at his most vulnerable, they would come and kill that peasant bastard.

* * *

"Master. Your internal temperatures appear to be rising." Before I could answer, she lowered herself down a little more, both hands touching each cheek as she stared unyielding into my eyes. "I am detecting the heat signatures are emanating from your cheeks. Your heartbeat also seems to be increasing dramatically. I do not sense any prescience of magic. Are you alright, Master?"

Too close. Much too close. _Way_ too close!

Her head then popped up inquisitively and she looked behind her. "I am also detecting another heat signature. It is weaker than the one on your cheeks, but it is slowly gro-"

"I-I'm fine! Fine! J-Just fine!" I nearly shouted, waving my hands around franticly and blushing like a mad fool. "C-Can you just...get off. Please?" I asked, turning my head as far away as I could.

For a moment, I was afraid she chose to totally ignore me, but I soon felt her body lift from mine and let out a shaky sigh of relief. "Yes master." She said compliantly.

I took a breathe. A few actually as I tried to calm myself down. Dear gosh, if anyone had come in during that moment, I think I would've literally died from embarrassment. Making sure to keep my head positioned in the complete opposite direction, I slowly got back to my feet. The unconscious urge to look back behind me though still prodded intensely at the back of my mind. After already receiving an eyeful of things that were not meant for me, I gulped and shook my head vehemently. Clothes. Focus. Where did I leave that robe Alice gave me?

Spotting it hanging from my bedpost, I quickly went to retrieve it.

"Master? What is wrong?" I heard the girl behind me ask, her voice reverberating with a slight mechanized echo. It was strange, but also kind of alluring. Wait, no. No! Don't you dare turn around. Walk. Backwards.

"N-Nothing." Dang it man, lose the stutter! I took some cautious steps back and held out the robe in her general direction. "Here. Sorry, this is all I have."

I didn't feel it leave my hand. "Is there something wrong with my appearance master?"

"No. No, it's just, uh, you know. For...covering up." She still wasn't taking it. Good grief, this girl was as dense as, well, iron! "Look, sorry, but will you please just put this on? And please, don't ah, call me that. My name is Zyeke."

There was a long pause between us. "Is this an order Master Zyeke?"

Oh for the love of- "Fine, yes, it's an order. Now will you please just put on the robe?!"

Finally, I felt the garment leave my arm and I let out a heavy sigh of relief. I gave her a few moments to change, my ears picking up the subtle brush of the light fabric slipping onto her skin. I gulped and clenched and unclenched my fingers. Sometimes I really hated my sensitive ears. Since the furnaces had just ceased from smelting the ore I'd brought up originally, almost all of the standard white noise I'd become accustomed to had dissipated. Besides the faint crackling of flames from the torches on the walls and my own measured breathes, there was nothing to distract me from hearing her fidgeting with the robe.

Damn my unusual handicap.

"I have done as you've ordered Master Zyeke." I heard her announce from behind me.

Shaking off my uneasy thoughts, I turned back around to fac her again. I immediately wished I hadn't. She was big. Very, very big. And tall. That robe had been large on me. Even standing just over six foot tall, it still hung loosely over my, ahem, lanky frame as Victoria had called it. But she, gosh I hadn't realized it while on the floor, but now that she was standing, I was reminded just what mob she embodied. She towered over me. She had to have had at least half a foot on me and that was a generous estimate. Her head almost reached the ceiling! As shocking as that was though, it wasn't the real issue.

Her body proportions were just insane! I mean, her arms looked like they were about the same size as my thighs! Admittedly, they weren't overly huge, but compared to my own arms they were much more developed. The otherwise loose robe was now form fitted, her body actually pressing up against the seams of the fabric. It was practically skin tight and left almost nothing to the imagination. Even worse, because she was so tall, the ends of the article only reached down to her mid-thighs. There was absolutely nothing preventing me from seeing her pale gray, metallic legs gleaming softly in the torchlight.

Needless to say this wasn't much better than before.

"Master Zyeke, your internal temperatures are starting to-" She started before I quickly cut her off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know! J-Just...give me a second." I said, rubbing a hand over my face. Come on man, get ahold of yourself. "Stupid question, but you are an iron golem right?" I was in desperate need of a distraction and even if she stated what I already knew to be true, I didn't know any other way to start a conversation right now.

"Yes. I am unit R054." She responded plainly. "My functions are to be a protector of you, my creator, and to observe any order you may give. So long as it does not go against my pre-programmed directives.

Okay. It's a start. "And what are those directives?" I asked, moving my head up so that I could look her in the eye. Only to her eyes.

"Before all things, I am to preserve the life of my creator and other villagers. I am not to follow any order that may cause fatal injuries or circumstances for any villager. The only exception would be if he or she is an immediate threat to you, my creator, or another defenseless villager. I will also attack any standard hostile mob on sight. Any order given that would cause me harm will not be followed as well, save it conforms with one of the previously stated directives." She stated. "Unless overridden, these three directives may never be broken."

That was good I suppose. It pretty much lined up with how the normal iron golem mobs acted. However, the fact that there was a way to bypass those directives was concerning. "What do you mean by overridden? There's a way for you to disobey your own programming?"

She nodded. "Yes. Should anyone else capture me, it is possible that they could erase and overwrite my programming." She then extended an arm out to me. "But if you wish, there is one safegaurd against this that you may initiate Master Zyeke."

I really wished she would stop calling me that. Somehow it felt worse when she added my name to that suffix. I disregarded it for now though. This was more important. "Alright then. What is it?" I asked.

She lowered her hand and instead moved it back to her. "You must provide me with a suitable form of your being that I may ingest. Doing this would initiate the 'Owernership Protocol' and you would be able to order me about without regard to my preprogrammed directives. You would also be able to program other functions for me to do based on voice command alone that I would fulfill without question or hesitance. Acceptable forms of being are skin or muscle tissue, blood, saliva, or other bodily fluids. It does not matter which you choose."

I gulped, but I couldn't stop myself from blurting out my next sentence. "So, uh theoretically, a kiss would be acceptable?"

She blinked, but then nodded shortly after. "Yes. That would be acceptable." She took a few steps towards me, leaning down so her head was level with mine. One of her hands then drifted up to my cheek. Her palm was cool to the touch. "Is this method what you wish?"

Crap, why did I let my tongue slip like that? Looking up, her face close, her short white hair drooping down the sides of her cheeks like a curtain. Flickers of light from the torches surrounding us cast light tones and shadows like miniature spotlights, her lidded stoic red gaze piercing through it all like the main attraction. Was there really anything wrong with this? This was just to activate the safeguard. A simple countermeasure to ensure she couldn't be used by someone else for ill intentions. There was nothing wrong with this.

But, if that was truly the case, then why did I feel such an empty feeling in my stomach?

Was it fear? I'd never kissed a girl before. As embarrassing as that may be to admit, especially at my age, it was true. I didn't have any type of experience at all with it. Did I just have the jitters because I was afraid of messing it up? I swallowed as my eyes drifted across her face and over to her lips. Despite that cold, hard, metallic feeling of her hand on my cheek, her lips appeared soft. Inviting, even. As if the fact that she was a robot could be dismissed by the simple press of her lips on mine. She was even allowing it. To her, it would just be an accommodation to her programing. It wasn't a serious affair. And, if I was being honest, I wanted to. I wanted to know what that felt like. A kiss from a girl.

Slowly, I closed my eyes and moved my head forward, following the guidance of her palm.

 _Bingbingbingbingbing!_

Both of us snapped back, surprised by the sudden high pitched alarm. My head flicked back towards the door, the note block beside it going crazy for a moment before abruptly cutting off. My alarm system. Something had entered the cave. Something that definitely wasn't a mob. My gaze shifted back to the iron golem girl before me. She looked right back, a mildly confused expression flashing across her eyes. Not knowing whether the intruder was friend or foe, I couldn't risk them finding out about her existence. Not until I knew who I was dealing with.

My mind flipped into damage control mode. "Come on." I grabbed her wrist, heading over to the button to access my hidden farm. Only to feel myself forced to stop in literally the next instant. I nearly tripping on my forward momentum as it suddenly was forced to cease. I looked back. Her head was tilted to the side, towards the door, a stern expression crossing her features. Her wrist was still firmly grasped in my hand, but my actions hadn't budged her one bit. "Rosa, I need you to follow me. You need to hide."

"My sensors are picking up someone headed this way. Unable to confirm mob type." She spoke, her gaze never leaving the door.

"I know. It'll be fine. I can handle it. Come on." I pulled harder on her wrist, but to no avail. Her joint remained stiff and unmoving. My gosh, you gotta be kidding. I couldn't even make her arm move?

"Hiding goes against my directives. Until the possible threat is evaluated, I will not move from your side." She stated undeterredly.

So even if there was the possibility of danger alone, she couldn't follow an order to leave? Great. It wouldn't be long before whoever it was was at my doorstep. It wasn't a particularly long walk from the entrance to here. I had to think of something. Fast. "Alright fine, then follow me. We'll both hide." I said, letting go of her arm and moving back to the wall opposite my bed, hitting the button to open up the hidden entrance to my farm and moved the painting to the side. "Let's go."

At first, she didn't move, and I was about to resort to trying to issue another order before she responded. "Very well."

Upon hearing that, I hopped through the raised opening and ducked into farm area. While I was still out of her sight line, I moved over to the side with the wooden button that I used to open and close the entrance from this side. The pistons were on a lengthy timer, thankfully, because she was certainly taking her time! Holding a hand behind my back, I summoned a diamond ax from my inventory. She probably wasn't going to appreciate this later for what I was about to do now, but my grandfather used to have a saying for times like this. Better to ask for forgiveness later than permission now. My grandfather had an interesting take on the world sometimes.

Once she stepped down from the entrance, I saw her eyes widen for a moment. "I didn't know you knew how to farm Master Zyeke." She said, her attention momentarily distracted. "It's...quite wonderful."

I wasn't going to get a better chance than this. Without another word, I dashed behind her. Hopping up over the one block step, I twisted and slammed the ax against the button on the wall. There was a small _pop_ and I instantly dropped the ax and dove backwards. Behind me, the redstone hidden in the inner cavern walls ceased, and the pistons holding the two wooden blocks slammed shut behind me.

Landing with lightly pained grunt, I extended my hand out back towards the entrance and palmed two miniature blocks of obsidian. Good thing I mined a few extra pieces when making that nether portal earlier today! I practically threw the both of them at the hole the painting covered. Once they grew to full size, I let out a huge sigh and ran a hand through my hair. Ah, she was probably going to be so upset with me when I let her back out. Wait, do androids get upset?

Before I could more on that however, there was a knock at my door.

"Yeah! One second!" I called, the words leaving my mouth out of habit more than anything. Living with your parents does that. Luckily, it gave me time to jump up and hastily replace the painting on the wall before I made my way over to the door. The fact that someone actually knocked must mean they weren't hostile right? Any normal mob would've just tried to break in. Still, who knew I lived here?

I took a peak through one of the four slits near the top of the door and spotted a familiar orange shade of hair. Well, that settled things. My hand reached for the lock and I opened the door. "Alice?"

Sure enough, there she was, dressed in her standard brown villager garb. She stood in the middle of the doorframe, her right hand clutching her left arm. Her eyes were on the floor for a moment before she slowly smiled up at me. Yet, and I had no idea why, something seemed a bit off about it. Nothing overly obvious, but it wasn't quite the same as her usual smile I'd come to know. This one seemed more...reserved. She wasn't really meeting my gaze either.

"H-Hey Zyeke..." Even her voice sounded different. "Um, may I come in?"

Something was definitely up. I'd never seen Alice act like this. She was always so composed and though her voice carried a gentle, soft undertone, this wasn't the same. It was quieter, maybe even a little distant. It wasn't much and maybe could be misconstrued as her just being shy. But over the past week, I'd never seen her act in such a way. Not to mention, since I hadn't yet responded, her left hand clutching her arm was starting to fidget a bit.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Come on in." I said, stepping aside to allow her to pass.

As she walked in, watched her a little more carefully, and her face lit up in surprise as soon as she entered the room. "Wha-? Zyeke? Did you do all of this too?" She blurted out incredulously. Huh. Well, that seemed normal enough. Was I just looking too far into things? Alice continued to look around at my humble abode, her expression filled with just as much wonder as it did disbelief.

"Uh, yeah. This is where I setup just before I showed you guys your new house actually." I answered back, chuckling a bit as she looked back at me with wide eyes. "It really nothing special. Heh. It actually took a lot more time to build you guy's house than it did to make all this." Although granted, it took me a lot longer to wire all the little redstone contraptions I had sprinkled throughout this cave, like the hidden door to the farm. Didn't help that I wasn't the best with it either.

Alice smiled lightly and turned towards the kitchen area towards the far wall. "Right. Of course. I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Her hands moved in front of her and she tilted her head back towards me, her braided hair resting loosely over her shoulder. "I always seem to forget just what an incredible person you are."

I couldn't help but be taken a little aback by that. I mean, shoot, what was I supposed to say to that? I don't handle praise well enough as it is. Especially when it's coming from someone I know. "Ahahah..." I chuckled, albeit a bit nervously this time, waving a hand dismissively. "Ah, I wouldn't exactly go that far. I can just, ah, well I can just do a few things a little easier than others." Okay, that may have been the biggest understatement of the year, but it was the best I had. Like I said, I don't handle anything praise worthy too well other than a 'good job' or a 'nice going' type of thing. I'm usually just satisfied with that. Give me any more and heck, I don't know what to do with it!

"So, how's Tia doing?" I asked, trying to segue off the topic of me and picking a much safer subject.

Alice moved her head back to the kitchen and was I mistaken or did I see her arm tense up again? "She's…doing just fine." She muttered, her voice receding back to the unusual quiet tone she had when she was at my doorstep. I certainly hadn't imagined that. Especially not twice now. Something was bothering her. Or at least, there was definitely something on her mind that was making her uncomfortable. I watched as she turned her head to the side, looking towards where I'd placed my bed. "I'm sorry Zyeke, it was a really long walk over here. Would it be alright if I sat down?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." I answered back, a little uncertain. Don't get me wrong, the bed was likely much more comfortable than the plain wooden table and chairs I'd constructed from fence posts and slabs. Actually, come to think of it, I hadn't actually used it since I moved in. Probably because I knew it wasn't going to be the least bit comfortable. Seems there were still downsides to building like this.

That being said, maybe this was my chance to find out what was really going on here.

I waited, giving her a little time to sit down. While she was walking over, I noticed something else. The bottom hem of her robe on the side was darkened in a sizable messy splotch. Had she spilled something on it? Why not go home and change then? Come to think of it, looking closer I could also barely make out little pieces of branches and dirt stains. "Hey, Alice, what happened to your robe?" I asked, moving over to the bed myself now.

She paused just as she was about to sit down, her head drooping down towards the floor. "O-Oh, I, um…well, it's a bit embarrassing." She said, her voice quivering a bit. I took a seat beside her and she took a breathe. "I was coming here with a meal. A special recipe left to me from my mother. But, I…I wasn't watching where I was going and tripped on a divet in the road." Her face fell. "I'm sorry Zyeke, I spilled it all over the road."

Oh man, that does suck. I wouldn't call myself an extraordinary cook or anything, but I do take some pride in what I do make. I completely understand the feeling of working so hard to prepare a delicious dinner, only to botch it all up right at the end. It's gotta be one of the worst feelings in the world for chefs. Doesn't really change that much when you're just a cook though either.

"Ah, sorry. I know how that feels. But, they say it's the thought that counts though right? Besides, I think I got a few dishes I can whip up with some of the stuff I have here, no problem." I said, rising from the mattress to head towards my kitchen chests. "As a matter of fact, you'[d be giving me an excuse to finally coo-"

I stopped abruptly as I felt Alice's hand catch my wrist. "W-Wait, Zyeke…" I heard her whisper from behind me. "Y-You've…You've already done too much for me. This…t-this was supposed to be the one time I could…that I could repay you for all you've done…" Her voice was starting to quiver, her words coming out in short, shaky breathes.

Gosh, I hadn't realized this meant so much to her. "Hey, hey, it's alright." I said, moving back onto the bed and wrapping an arm around her in a sidelong hug. Heh, funny, this was exactly how I found myself whenever I was comforting one of my female friends back in high school. "The fact that you went ahead and made me something means a lot more to me than actually being able to eat it. Besides, I already told ya you didn't have to worry about trying to repay me. Like I said before, It's no big deal."

Suddenly, I felt Alice shift and soon both her hands were latched onto my shoulders as she pulled until my face was level with hers. "Y-You always say th-at!" She yelled. Or, rather, would have yelled if her voice hadn't cracked. "I-It's always 'no big deal', 'it's nothing special', 'it wasn't hard, don't worry about', w-well it is!" Her eyes started to well up and a stray tear fell from her left eye. It was like the drop that broke the dam. "Y-You…Y-You've changed this entire town. _Hic._ Y-You've c-changed so many lives…! Y-You've changed… _hic_ …you've changed my life! T-Tia's life…!" She shut her eyes, a soft sob escaping her lips as she turned her head down momentarily. Even if I wanted to say something, my mind was too stunned. "A-All I wanted…" She whimpered. "A-All I wanted tonight was to thank you…for saving me…" He fingers curled up, calling up the fabric of my own, personal robe as she turned back to face me. "I…" She stammered, her arms trembling slightly as she pulled me closer. "I…"

Oh no. Crap. Crud! I wasn't ready for this!

"I-I…!" She tried once more and I felt her hands clamp down tightly on my shoulders again before suddenly releasing, Alice's head falling lightly against my chest. "I-I can't do this…! You don't deserve this...!" She exclaimed, letting loose an onslaught of tears and heavy sobs as she buried her head deeper into my robe. "I'm sorry Zyeke…I'm so sorry…"

Uhhhh. What?

"Alice?" I finally said, snapping out of my stupor, nothing but questions flooding my mind at this strange, awkward turn of events. Only one mattered the most. "Alice, what's wrong? Talk to me."

"I-It's…It's Joshua…he's back. And he's brought men with him…he threatened Tia…said he had people in town that would hurt her if I didn't…" The rest of her explanation was lost to more muttered apologies and sobs. Of course. Now everything made sense. The dirt on her robe, her ruffled appearance, Joshua must have caught her while she was headed here. That bastard. I was so gonna kick his royal- "Zyeke…!" Alice exclaimed, snapping me away from my thoughts. "Zyeke, you need to run! I-If you leave now, you might be able to get away before they get here. Please, I don't care what happens to me, just…please save Ti-"

 _Bingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbing! Bingbing!_

Alice's attention immediately shifted towards the door. "W-What was that?"

Balls. "My alarm system." I responded. Not wasting another second, I grabbed onto her wrist and yanked her up off the bed. "Come on, you need to go."

Time against me for the second time tonight, I had no time to break down the obsidian behind the painting to get back to the farm. Luckily, years of playing on Minecraft's faction and PVP servers left me with a habit of carrying a well stocked inventory. Holding out my palm once again, I generated a tnt block and threw it over beside the painting. Letting go of Alice, I dashed over and quickly lit it with a single swipe of flint and steal. Not bothering to yell to Alice to get back, I ran back over to her and scooped her up off her feet, running to the opposite wall.

 _Sssss…boom!_

The tnt block exploded, taking out a good portion of the wall and the stone behind it. Most importantly though, it opened up the blocks right next to the corridor leading to the farm. Quickly, I carried her over, leaping over the miniature crater and sprinting into the farm. Sure enough, the iron golem was right by the entrance.

"Master Zyeke! What is going on? Why did you trap me here? And why did you set off a tnt explosion?" Then, her head darted past me, off towards where the entrance of the cave would be. "Master, I am detecting multiple mob signatures headed this way."

"H-Huh? Zyeke? Who is she? And why is she calling you master?!" Alice piped up from my arms.

Agh! Too many questions. No time. Ignoring them both, I set Alice down and turned towards the golem girl. "Rosa, listen to me, I need you to take Alice here back home. At the back wall, there's a button that will open a passage with a minecart and tracks. Use it to get back to her house and find her daughter. Protect them both until I get back, you understand me?"

The golem, Rosa, blinked again before shaking her head. "Unacceptable master. My directives require me to ensure your safety above all others. Even another villager."

Oh for the love of all things holy. I didn't have time for this. Steeling myself for the thing I was about to do, I took a deep breathe and looked back up at Rosa. "Open your mouth." I ordered, sticking a finger in my mouth shortly after.

She didn't comply immediately, giving me a perplexed look. "Master, I don't think now is the time to be-mph!" I didn't give her the chance to finish her statement as I shoved my finger in her mouth.

"I'm initiating ownership protocol. From now on, you will do what I say without question Rosa. Am I understood?" I asked, my voice taking on a commanding tone now. Although, some of that authoritative persona was diminished when I felt her tongue slowly moving around my finger before she backed off it, the appendage leaving her lips with a tiny _pop_. I couldn't fight the blush that I knew was slowly coming over my cheeks, but I did my best to keep my expression as serious and intense as it had been a few seconds before. Not sure it came out as well as I hoped.

"Understood. Ownership protocol has been initiated. Carrying out last order." Without so much as a warming, she picked up Alice in a fireman's carry and instantly moved over to the back wall, hitting the button left there.

"W-Wha-?! Zyeke?! What are you doing?!" She struggled and squirmed from inside Rosa's grip, but it hardly did anything at all. If anything, she only made herself more uncomfortable as she bobbed up and down from Rosa's lengthy bounds. "Please, Zyeke! You can't face them all alone!" There was a small click and the wall opened up, Rosa not stopping as she went to carry her away. She almost sounded desperate. I should probably try to calm her nerves before she goes.

Before it shut, I turned my head and gave her a small wave with a cool smile. "Don't worry Alice. I'll see ya soon."

"Wai-" Whatever she was going to say was soon silenced by the pistons slamming the blocks back into place. Hope it wasn't something important. Well, no sense in worrying about that now. Taking a breathe and chuckling, I summoned two more blocks of tnt and headed towards the south wall.

It was time Joshua was put in his place.

 **Oh man, it's been a bit. Sorry for the long delay guys. Was in the middle of a personal crisis and then my car also started acting up, which I thankfully got done today. So I can drive again, whooo. Plus, I recently started a new project that's going to be a true book I'm going to have published eventually, so there is that as well. Sorry, but I'll have to ask you guys be a little patient with me. I'm not giving it up though. No worries there. Anyway, next chapter will be finally dealing with Joshua and I will soon be making the segue into the Monster Games scenario soon. Within the next five chapters or so, promise xD. Thanks to everyone who left a review and those that are still with me. Can't wait to hear from you all again.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **Milo S Darek: Thanks man. I know it was a bit of filler, but rest assured even the filler chapters addressing the side characters and subplots will always have ties and hints/foreshadowing to the main event. Subtle or not, they will be there. And no, no Zyeke will likely never have a break xD. But that's what makes this all fun. I'm glad you're enjoying it and can't wait to hear your thoughts again. Cheers.**

 **Miss Electricity: Always wonderful to hear from you again Miss E. You were indeed correct on your assumption. The changes were to be interpreted as supporting Joshua's lie by co-incidence. Lucky for him. I am happy that you were able to make that prediction before I wrote it, good job xD. As for the mechanics, I'm keeping it limited to he can only summon blocks and must actually place them inside the chest for them to be added to the chest's inventory. Just like the original game mechanics. I'll be following those as closely as I can, though if you look carefully and read in between the lines, you may notice something interesting about how Zyeke interacts with the world and how the normal citizens do. Keep it in mind as you read :P. And the reason for the golem being female was to pay homage to the old Iron Golem princess in the old story. But in this rewrite, I'm doing away with the notion of golem hierchy, since they only serve to protect villagers and instead have them being made to be used as tools more than anything. But you'll find the name Rosa matches the same in the old fic, so that's why. Looking forward to what insight you have for this chapter and hope I have you anxious for the next one :).**

 **Guest: Um…you're welcome? Can't really tell if its an insult or just a funny post, but thanks for the review.**

 **VoidlessVitro: Thanks Vitro for the compliment and I'm sorry if I missed any more typos here xD. I do promise things will be shifting back to the original plot soon, but I have one last arc to complete before we head there. I think you'll find it enjoyable before the real fun begins. Hang in there for me and let me know your thoughts or any typos you find again :)**

 **Blegar1: Yep, the regular iron golems are very akin to robots with basic functions. However, this one that Zyeke made could be seen as an advanced version, more like an android. There'll be plenty of fun and shenanigans to be had with her I think you'll find.**

 **V-0-I-D: Haha, and I appreciate you leaving your reviews LIKE A BOSS xD. I do try my best to keep grammar correct, but I do make mistakes from time to time. Hope it won't take away too much from the reading for you. Can't wait to hear your thoughts.**

 **ZackTheDemon: Dang, three separate reviews?! I appreciate it man. In it's own way, it helps the story get noticed. You're officially my favorite reviewer for this chapter xD. Thanks for the compliments and I will do my best to keep you entertained. I'd also be delighted to read any stories you happen to post. I do check in on people who review and see if they have any stories of their own from time to time, so I'll be keeping an eye out for you especially. Feel free to PM me too if you'd like a proof reader or someone to bounce ideas off of. Let me know what you think on the new chapter.**


	9. Update

**Hey. I know it's been a long while. I have not stopped writing though, in fact I have just posted a new chapter for my other story 'Ash'. If any of you haven't read it, I encourage you to give it a read for those who like my style. For those who read my Minecraft story, I apologize for not updating it. But it isn't without reason. From this point on, I'm going to try to commit myself to a little project. I want to turn both of my stories here into audio/visual readings to be performed and posted to youtube. With background music, sound files, voice acting, the whole nine yards. I've already got the sound files to be edited for Chapter 1 of A New Kind Of Game and I will be searching for some for Ash soon. They will both be undergoing this process. That being said, I am expecting more progress to be made for Ash in the short term due to there being a sort of community in the Bronies on youtube that do voices for the main characters of MLP. I am going to be contacting them to see if they might be interested in something like this. However, even if they are not, I will be continuously searching until I find talented people who would be willing to start this project with me. The same goes for the Minecraft fanfic. I have a co-worker who has editing software she has already told me I was welcome to use, so I will be learning how to edit audio and video files in the coming weeks so I can put this together.**

 **All of this being said, if anyone who reads my stories or anyone has any help they can offer, please feel free to contact me. This includes if you'd like me to consider you for voice acting. I will also say, my schedule between work and my hobbies is pretty busy, so it may take a day or two to get a response from me, so I ask you please be patient.**

 **Thank you all and I will update this one as soon as I am able.**

 **JustAnOrdinaryWriter.**


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